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Spain is planning to impose a 100 per cent tax on real estate for buyers from non-EU countries such as the UK, in an effort to improve affordability in the housing market by deterring foreign purchases.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the plan for the punitive property tax, which would apply to non-EU citizens who do not live in Spain, as part of a raft of measures aimed at tackling a “grave” housing crisis.
Spain is one of many European countries where public anger is mounting over the difficulty of finding affordable housing, as property prices soar and construction lags far behind demand.
“The west faces a decisive challenge: to not become a society divided into two classes, the rich landlords and the poor tenants,” Sánchez said as he unveiled a set of 12 measures.
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