Corporate Ownership of Property.

Corporate ownership of Spanish property can be very attractive to mitigate (quite legitimately) your exposure to Spanish taxation and succession laws and may be worth considering.

The benefits to the individual of considering corporate ownership of property will depend on the individual requirements and circumstances. We work with tax advisers that manage hundreds of companies and substantial trusts many of which are asset holding companies. They are barristers and professionals including trust and estate practioners, who operate a Trust company licensed by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission in Gibraltar (the equivalent of the UK FSA). Our Trust and Estate experts will want to assess each individual before giving definitive advice though the following matters would be of relevance when assessing the benefits of structuring the purchase of your property in a tax efficient manner:

This could influence your liability to pay both British and Spanish Inheritance and Capital Gains Tax whether on real property or shares in a property holding company.

In Spain for example the rates of inheritance tax applicable currently on real property will vary between 7.65% and 81,6% depending on the relationship between the deceased and his successors.

Spanish capital gains tax is payable on the gain in value of the house when resale is effected in Spain and is 35% for non-residents.

Corporate ownership may mitigate this exposure if properly structured.

Unlike Anglo/Saxon Law, where a person is free to leave his property to whomever he wishes, Spanish general law states that at least one third of an estate must be left to the deceased’s children in equal parts, another third must go to any child or grandchild, but at the discretion of the testator, with the surviving spouse retaining a life interest in that third. A Company never dies and these rules will therefore not apply.

Transferring shares in a Company avoids the lengthy and protracted procedures necessary to register a fresh title in Spain. The sale and purchase can thus be effected much more quickly and cheaply.

These are other advantages of Company ownership. Discretion, when it comes to ownership, may also be required and can be achieved by corporate and trust ownership.

You lose nothing in putting your individual circumstance to our experts and they will advise you accordingly in the long run it may well give you and your family a considerable saving and peace of mind. Contact us to find out more information on Corporate Ownership of your property.