FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

A Happy New Year to you all, and welcome to the new style format of my
column for 2003. In case any of you missed the last edition of the CB
Freebie, I am inviting your questions on property, vehicle and tax
matters. The postal, email and fax details can be found at the foot of
this article (please do not telephone) so do send in any queries, and I
shall endeavour to give a coherent answer! I shall also be setting out
general questions that I am often asked in the office and therefore
should also be of interest to yourselves.

I scrapped my car in Febuary last year, but I have received a bill from
Suma for Car Tax 2002 - do I still have to pay this?

Yes - although the vehicle tax payment period is April/May, the tax is
valid from January to December of each year. Therefore you should pay
the bill for 2002 and then present the relevant paperwork to Suma to
apply for a part refund from when the car was scrapped. Please note
that the refund will only be applicable from the date that the car baja
(scrap) papers were officially presented and stamped at the Trafico
office in Alicante.

My wife has a residencia card but I am still non resident. We wish to
sell our property next year - do we have to pay Capital Gains Tax?

If the house is in joint names on the escritura, then 50% of the sale
proceeds will be accounted to your wife and 50% to yourself. Therefore,
your wife should make a tax declaration the following year, submitting
details of the sale and any subsequent property purchase made with her
50% of the proceeds. If she is over 65, she will be totally exempt from
paying any Capital Gains Tax. As a non-resident, you will lodge 5% of
50% of the declared value as shown in the new escritura with the tax
office within 30 days of the conveyance. The capital gains amount due
should then be calculated and any remaining balance due forwarded to
the Tax Office. Please note you will not be exempt from paying Capital
Gains Tax if you are over 65, as this only applies to holders of a
valid residencia card.

I have been told by the garage that I have to have a NIF number before
I can purchase a Spanish registered car - why can I not do this with my
passport, as I am an EU citizen?

The NIF number is required because it is used when paying Spanish taxes.
When you purchase vehicle, you have to pay a Transfer Tax (which is 4%
of the book value of the vehicle) and this cannot be administered
without a NIF (Numero de Identification Fiscal/Fiscal Identification)
Number. It is nothing to do with being an EU citizen - anyone who is
not of Spanish nationality has to apply for this number if they intend
to pay any form of Spanish tax (e.g. rates, rubbish removal, vehicle
road tax, property transfer tax, Capital Gains Tax etc).

I am a self-employed pool cleaner, and my works licence is for carrying
out pool cleaning. I am now branching into estate agency, but only on
an occasional basis. Do I need to change my works licence?

 Yes - your works licence must specify the actual work you are carrying
 out, so you should change the details of the licence. If you intend to
 continue working as a pool cleaner as well as an estate agent, you
 should apply for an additional licence, so you have one for your pool
 cleaning and one for your estate agency.

I have heard that a contract of sale now needs to be presented when
buying/selling a vehicle - is this correct?

Yes - on the private purchase/sale of any vehicle, a special contract
must be completed and signed by both seller and purchaser, which is
presented at the Trafico office with the other vehicle and transfer of
ownership papers. The euro amount paid for the vehicle must also be
shown, and this is used as a guide to the 4% transfer tax which must be
paid. (Be warned, however: if the amount shown in the contract is
deemed to be too low, a further amount will be 'added on' by Trafico,
so it is always best to show the genuine sale/purchase price). These
contracts must be in Spanish and have specific wording, so I recommend
you obtain a blank contract from Trafico or your fiscal representative,
and complete the relevant sections.