Spanish government pleased with wealth tax collection

Spain’s new wealth tax, introduced as part of measures aimed at reducing the cost of living for ordinary Spaniards in the face of high inflation, has already collected 632 million euros this year.

At the end of 2022, the left-wing government introduced a temporary solidarity tax for owners of large fortunes for 2023 and 2024, effectively abolishing regional exemptions from the existing wealth tax such as those in Madrid, which rivals Miami in attracting wealthy taxpayers from Latin America.

The tax applies to fortunes exceeding 3 million euros and can be as high as 3.5 per cent, depending on the size of a person’s wealth.

A total of 12,010 wealthy people have paid the new tax, representing only 0.1 per cent of all taxpayers in Spain, mainly in Madrid, Andalusia and Galicia.

The government predicts that there is a potential to collect 1.5 billion euros of tax on large fortunes if it is extended to all regions.