Spain's 21 per cent VAT on tourist lets was supposed to be approved yesterday. It wasn't.
The housing decree was scheduled for Tuesday's cabinet meeting, the last before the summer break. It got pulled.
➡️ The Housing Ministry says September
➡️ Podemos won't back the text because of the Ley del Suelo reform inside it
➡️ Junts and the PNV have separate objections, some of them incompatible with each other
➡️ Asked directly if he could guarantee September, Pedro Sánchez didn't guarantee it. He said the government is in a parliamentary minority and has to build alliances first
What's sitting in the draft:
➡️ 21 per cent VAT on short lets
➡️ Fines up to €1m for platforms listing without a licence or registration number
➡️ Two-year tenancy extensions and new seasonal-let rules
For context, a Spanish tourist let currently pays no VAT if you just hand over keys, and 10 per cent with hotel-style services. Federatur, AVVAPro and Apartur are pushing to lock in 10 instead, on EU fiscal neutrality grounds. Their strongest card: apart-hotels would pay 21 while hotels pay 10.
And even if it's approved in September, Congress still has to convalidate it within 30 days.
It isn't dead. It's parked. And the arithmetic that stopped it in July doesn't change over August.
Model it. Don't price it in yet.
