France, Greece and Portugal ‘planning to follow Spain with tax raid on Brit expats’ in fresh blow to holidaymakers

15 January 2025, 09:07

France, Portugal and Greece could be set to follow in the footsteps of Spain and crack down on British expats.

Spain is set to impose a whopping 100% housing tax on non-EU residents in a bid to prioritise affordable homes for locals.

The move, which sent shockwaves through British communities in Spain, was announced by the country’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday.

And it looks like it won’t just be Spain - France, Portugal and even Greece may move to slap the massive housing tax on non-EU residents, according to a report by the Mirror.

Read more: Spain to slap 100% tax on foreign home-buyers in blow to British expat hopefuls

And it looks like it won’t just be Spain - France, Portugal and even Greece may move to slap the massive housing tax on non-EU residents, according to a report by the Mirror.

Like most Western countries, France and Portugal have been hit with a housing crisis in recent years, with locals complaining of soaring costs and a lack of availability.

France has been taking to steps to stem the rise of short-term tourist rents in recent years, but despite these efforts, the number of these holiday lets grew from 300,000 to 1.2 million between 2016 and 2024.

While Greece issued a blanket ban on short-term rentals in the centre of Athens following a massive public outcry.

House-buyers in Spain are currently expected to fork out costs and taxes worth between 10 and 12% of the house price, depending on its location.

Mr Sanchez said that the new 100% levy would help “prioritise the availability of housing for residents”.

Mr Sánchez also accused the 27,000 foreigners from outside the EU who purchased homes in Spain in 2023 of buying the properties “not to live in them, but to speculate”.

He added that house prices are one of Europe’s “main challenges, adding that “average house prices in Europe have risen by 48% in the last decade and it is unbearable.”

It comes after the Spanish prime minister announced plans to end the so-called 'golden visa' scheme in a blow to thousands of British expats.

It is set to end on April 3 this year as part of efforts to prioritise affordable housing for Spaniards. The scheme currently allows non-EU citizens who invest around half a million euros in Spanish property to live and work there for three years.

The minimum required investment for the visa was €500,000 (£420,000).

Mr Sanchez said last April: "Today, 94 out of every 100 such visas are linked to real estate investment... in major cities like Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Alicante, Valencia or Palma de Mallorca that are facing a highly stressed market and where it's almost impossible to find decent housing for those who already live, work and pay their taxes there."

The scheme was rolled out in Spain in a bid to bolster their economy in the wake of the global financial crisis.Wealthy foreigners, many of whom were Brits, were encouraged to invest in Spanish real estate.

But it came under increasing pressure from the EU after Brexit, which marked the end of freedom of movement.