THE NUMBER of residents registered on the padrón in Teulada-Moraira has dropped so much that the town council has lost €730,649 from the government.
In the last five years, official residency has dropped by 4,124 inhabitants. The town hall, believes, however, that the number of residents remains virtually the same, and expatriates are reluctant to register. In a stark warning, he stated that if the figures do not increase, the council will have no choice but to raise taxes.
If the Spanish Government had not introduced the 720 reporting, there would not have been such an exodus of expats. The tax regime suddenly appeared threatening and no-one likes that. Also, the reluctance of Spain to abolish the 720 reporting, despite the EU declaring it illegal, is shocking.
Double taxation of British government ex-employees in violation of the bilateral Taxation Treaty is further evidence that the Spanish Government are unfairly penalising expats. Spanish ex-civil servants in the UK are not required to declare their Spanish pensions, yet in Spain the Brits must and have an increased tax bill as a result.
In these circumstances, it is not surprising that expats are leaving.