Legal Questions Podcast With Maria de Castro

Pixie said:
Saturday, March 21, 2015 @ 9:13 AM

Dear Maria,

I sold my apartment in La Gomera on 3/10/13 for 190,000€. When signing the sale documents I was told that 5,700€ tax had to be deducted as I was not a Spanish resident, but was re-assured by the Estate Agent that this would be refunded. I was advised to place in the hands of a 'Tax lawyer', as doing it all yourself could be difficult as I live in the UK, don't speak Spanish, etc. This I did (for a large up-front fee) and he applied for the refund on 29/1/14. Nearly 14 months have elapsed, and I still haven't had the refund. The lawyer (who seems very professional) says that this is because the Hacienda have ordered a re-assessment, as they feel that the selling price was too low given the purchase price. (£273,503€ + 5% IGIC on 23/5/07). It definitely wasn't too low - the Estate Agent said that I was lucky to sell at all in the current market, and that 190,000€ was a very good price. I know that several other owners in the same development have been trying to sell for the past 3 or 4 years, and not one has managed to do this! It must be obvious to the Hacienda that I bought at the top of the market, and since 2007 the Spanish housing market has collapsed, so ordering a re-assessment is pointless This apart, how long are they allowed to keep my money? It cannot take over a year to carry out a re-assessment! The lawyer said that there is no point reminding them, as "They are just very slow and I have to be patient". He said that it could be at least another 6 months. I know that Spanish administration is not the quickest in the world, but this is ridiculous. Is there a legal time limit within which the Hacienda MUST pay the refund? How do I know if my application has not been mis-filed and buried in the system? Is there any point lodging a formal complaint? I look forward to hearing from you.

Douch said:
Saturday, March 21, 2015 @ 10:45 AM

I understand that changing the Statutes of a Community must have the unanimous support of voters at an AGM (unlike changes to Community Rules, which just need a simple majority). Does this mean that an abstention would count the same as a vote against i.e. the vote is not unanimous in favour so the proposal would fail?