I have received a good response to my request for questions, a selection
of which are set out below:

I have lost my Residencia Card, and the bank will not let me draw out of
my Residents' bank account - what should I do?

The first thing you must do is report the theft at your local Guardia
Civil Police Station, and make a Denuncia, which is a report detailing the
circumstances of the loss. This Denuncia is needed as "proof" of the loss,
and you must have a Denuncia or you cannot obtain a renewal.  Incidentally,
most Police Officers do not speak English, and a translator is not always
available, so it is wise to prepare a draft of the circumstances in
Spanish before you attend the Guardia Civil Station.

Once the Denuncia is to hand, this should be taken to Alicante Comiseria
with one photocopy and the following documents: an application form for
the replacement Residencia + 3 photocopies, 3 passport sized photos, a
photocopy of the stolen Residencia (if available), and your passport + 1
photocopy.  You must personally attend Alicante office as you will be
asked to sign and fingerprint the new document there and then.  When the
procedure has been finalised, you will be handed a "receipt" slip and
asked to collect the completed Residencia from Benidorm Comiseria in one
month's time.  Hopefully, your bank will accept your stamped application
form and receipt slip from the Comiseria as proof that you have applied
for a new Residencia, and allow you to draw from your account.  Each bank
has different systems, however, and I cannot guarantee this is the case,
so you need to check with them direct.



My wife and I are both residents and over 75 years old.  Will we receive
the 1.000 Euro age-related reduction when we make our annual Tax
Declaration, and if we make a joint Declaration, are we only entitled to
one reduction?

You are entitled to receive a 1.000 Euro reduction on your Declaration:
everyone who is resident and over 75 years of age will be entitled to this
discount.  It does not matter if you make a joint Declaration: you will
still both be able to claim the reduction.



Can you please advise what the minimum income is for a married couple to
qualify for a Residencia, and whether interest from savings would count
towards this figure.

The minimum income is 425 Euros (70,000 pesetas) per month per person,
irrespective of whether you are single or married, and you need to produce
a Certificate from your Spanish bank to corroborate that you have regular
sums of money deposited into your bank account. In the past it was also
necessary to show the source of this income, and savings could not be used,
but recent EU regulations have relaxed this requirement, so the source of
your income is now irrelevant.



The fact that I am 65 and with my wife spend 6 months per year in Spain,
we are particularly interested in applying for Residencia if this means
avoiding potential CGT on moving to another property in Spain - has the
situation changed in this respect?

The situation has not changed at the time of writing, although I am always
hearing rumours that for EU citizens Residencias will eventually be
scrapped.  If you are over 65 and hold a valid Residencia card at the time
of selling your house, you will be exempt from paying any CGT (Capital
Gains Tax).  If only one of you is 65 at that time, and you hold the
property in joint names, then details of the sale for the younger spouse's
half will be presented in the following year's Tax Declaration.  If you
remain non-resident then you will always be liable for CGT, irrespective
of age.



We had a new house constructed, and when it came near to completion, the
builder added a charge for plus valia costs which he said he expected us
to pay.  I thought that this was something the seller paid - please could
you clarify.

The plus valia tax is a land tax, and relates to the rise in land values
since purchase, so the longer the ownership, the higher the tax will be.
It is paid on transfer of ownership, and calculated on the square metres
of the plot, irrespective of whether any building stands on it.   Plus
valia is administered and payable to each respective Ayuntamiento (Town
Hall), depending on the location of the land/property.  It is indeed the
responsibility of the seller to pay this tax, but if he/she does not do so,
then the onus of payment falls on the purchaser. This tax should be paid
within three months of the date of conveyance (i.e. when the Escritura is
signed at the Notary's Office).

 I suggest you check your contract to see if any mention is made regarding
 taxes, and who is to pay what.  Although it is the seller's
 responsibility to discharge the Plus Valia liability, your builder may
 have commuted the costs of same to you in the contract.  



Finally, some helpful advice from a client for all Javea residents
renewing their Spanish driving licences:

The Centro Medico office where the eye and co-ordination tests are taken
has moved.  It is now at Policlinica CUME in the block of flats opposite
Javea Property Services, on the C/Fernando de Rojas in Javea.  The office
is only open on Thursdays from 17.00 - 21.00.  Their telephone number is
639 64 7547.

Thanks for that Margaret: I'm sure you have saved many a wasted journey!