Britons win historic expatriate tax case
10/03/09 14:17
A British couple have won a landmark court case in Spain after claiming that expatriates pay too much capital gains tax when selling their second homes.
In what is expected to be an historic ruling that will pave the way for thousands more similar cases, the court sided with Mr and Mrs Roy, who paid a tax rate of 35 per cent on their second home in comparison to the 15 per cent levied on Spaniards.
According to the judge ruling over the case, this practice amounts to discrimination against expatriates, with observers now estimating that claims worth a total of £130 million are set to be lodged over the coming months.
"It is fantastic news that the first British couple has been successful, and that a total of 600 other British claimants are now in the process of putting their cases forward," Mark Bodega, director of currency specialists HiFX, noted.
Experts have added, however, that Spanish law stipulates that retrogressive claims can only be made on decisions made less than four years ago.
Around one in four of all Britons who now move overseas head to Spain, new figures from Travelex show.
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