The Frente Amplio candidate for the Presidency of the Government in the elections on November 29, Ada Colau, announced this Wednesday that she will promote a new tax aimed at companies and individuals in order to discourage the accumulation of housing in Spain.
During an interview on "Cadena Ser," reported by Europa Press, she explained that this tax would have a rate of 10% on the value of each property, except when such homes are intended for affordable and stable rental, which would be exempt.
In the case of companies, the tax would apply from the first property owned, while for individuals it would come into effect from the fourth house, provided that the total value of their properties exceeds 800,000 euros.
Colau emphasized that housing is the "top priority" of the campaign and reminded that they "owe it to Maricarmen," the elderly woman who died in Madrid after being evicted, the commitment to end real estate speculation. Therefore, she argued that this "deterrent" tax will make it "not worth it to speculate" and, at the same time, will protect small property owners.
It would affect funds, large holders, and multiple property owners
According to Frente Amplio's calculations, the measure would apply to all investment funds with a presence in the Spanish real estate market and to 737 private companies that have 50 or more rental homes.
It would also reach about 262,000 multiple property owners with four or more houses, who represent 1.3% of those who own housing in Spain and are part of the 10% of the population with the highest level of wealth.
The left-wing coalition, however, contemplates various exceptions to the payment of this tax, such as housing cooperatives, public administrations, and non-profit entities, considering that in these cases the use and possession of the properties are fully justified.
The fundamental purpose of this tax is to prevent anyone in the country from accumulating more than three homes and to reinforce that the issue of housing remains one of the central axes of the Frente Amplio campaign ahead of the general elections.
From the candidacy, they insist that "everyone has the right to a home and no one has the right to accumulate more than three," which is why they consider it a priority to facilitate access to the first home and "prevent the accumulation of them in few hands."
Furthermore, they argue that this fiscal measure will contribute to increasing the supply of rental and owned housing at affordable prices, favoring a widespread reduction of prices.
Plan to invest 1% of GDP in public housing
This new tax will be linked to an investment of up to 1% of GDP aimed at expanding the public housing stock, a budget that would be partially financed by the tax collection itself and that would be executed through the construction, purchase, and rehabilitation of apartments.
Sumar had already defended dedicating that same percentage of GDP both in its electoral program and in the state housing plan and in its proposals for the General Budgets, estimating that with that investment, 2 million social housing units could be reached.
The idea of taxing the accumulation of housing is not new in the alternative left space. ERC, for example, registered a bill proposing a complementary tax to VAT, of a progressive nature, aimed at those who already owned two homes and wanted to continue acquiring more properties.