Overview
- At a June 26 Fedea event presenting Jaume Menéndez’s book, economists argued that Spain’s complex tax system significantly raises the final cost of homes and shapes market decisions.
- Menéndez and other speakers cited OECD data showing Spain ranks fourth in EU housing tax pressure, a fact they used to argue the country’s tax mix needs rethinking.
- The authors highlighted a fiscal ‘chain’ that taxes homes at purchase, ownership, rental, sale and inheritance and gave a numerical example in which a dwelling bought for €90,000 in 2000 and sold for €240,000 in 2025 would have borne almost €56,000 in taxes.
- Experts proposed specific reforms still under discussion: a VAT regime to favor rental housing, a temporary 0% VAT for energy-efficiency works, a reduced transfer tax rate of about 4–5% for first-time buyers, and studying deducting prior transfer tax to avoid a transfer-tax cascade.
- Speakers stressed that taxation is only one driver of high prices and warned that supply shortages, rising construction and urban charges, and long administrative delays also lift costs and deter builders and private investors, which could slow gains from any tax changes.