British expatriates who were handed hefty tax bills after making Spanish property sales may be in line for a rebate amounting to thousands of pounds, say Currencies Direct, a leading foreign exchange company.
The chance for a cash windfall follows the announcement that elements of Spanish tax are to be scrapped. British expatriates, non-residents, who owned and subsequently sold Spanish properties before 2007, were given high capital gains tax rates of 35 percent, with Spanish natives given a much smaller rate of 15 percent.
This discriminatory tax rate was deemed unlawful by the European Union however it is estimated that almost ten thousand British expats had already coughed up the large tax bills. These Brits are now entitled to claim the money back. The deadline for such claims has been set as 21 November 2010.
A director at Currencies Direct, Mark O’Sullivan, said “With a weakening pound and a steady euro, this welcome tax refund can be maximised by British expats who can make a claim and exchange their money as soon as possible. When yearly interest is taken into consideration on property sold as long ago as 1997, we are talking about considerable sums of money. It will be great for expats to get their cash back, but even better if they can use the current exchange rate to their advantage and get the most from their unexpected windfall.”