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City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia

In the news

Paramount - will they, won't they?

It was over a year ago in October 2010 that I first mentioned the likely arrival of the Paramount theme park in Murcia in this newsletter. Since then there has been some activity but generally progress seems to be slow. However, things might be stepping up a notch. If you click on the article below you will see that we have reached the next stage with ownership of the land being transferred to Premursa the development company who are building the park. Construction is now planned to begin in the Spring.

typicallyspanish.com

tumbit.com

What´s going on with the euro?

There's a lot of anxiety around at the moment, not helped by various newspapers spreading unevidenced rumour. Here are a couple of interesting articles to read with their own take on what to expect from 2012. Not perhaps totally reassuring but we're certainly not to the point of getting the life boats out yet!

culturespain.com

This article promises a slightly more buoyant outlook although the 'Tobin Tax' which is a tax on financial transactions looks set to cause further disagreements between the UK and its neighbours.

economictimes.indiatimes.com

Every country is facing its difficulties. No one can predict with any degree of certainty what is likely to happen, although no doubt by 2013 many will be claiming to have foreseen it all. Unnecessary worry, speculation and scaremongering will help no one. So my advice is to make the most of 2012 and your property in Spain and apply a degree of skeptism to anyone who claims to know it all.

If you want to keep up with what's happening in Spain in English, these websites include articles that can help keep you up-to-date:

iberosphere.com

typicallyspanish.com

This website includes an English version of El Pais (Spanish national newspaper)

culturespain.com

On a completely different note, Burger King are to open 24 hours a day at some branches and will start a home delivery option. That might not make a lot of difference to many of us, but could it be a sign of things to come? Who knows - a 24 hour Carrefour may not be that far round the corner.

Could you be a Spanish National?

Most people living in Spain are content to be classed as a resident. This means that you retain your British passport but your country of residency is Spain.

However, some people prefer to take it one step further and wish to become Spanish Nationals. So, what does this entail and what are the benefits?

To begin with you have to:

- display adequate civil conduct
- have been a legal resident for at least 10 years
- have proof of sufficient economic resources to be able to live in Spain

You also have to swear loyalty to the King and promise to obey the Spanish Constitution and laws.

The benefits are that you will have a DNI number and no longer have to carry your passport around with you. You are also entitled to vote in the Spanish general election and are eligible for some additional types of employment. Perhaps not worth it for most of us but if you qualify and feel you can't beat them. Join them.

Ábaco Tax update

The government promised it wouldn't be increasing taxes - first pledge broken then. They have now promised that even if they put them up temporarily, they will be reduced again (presumably just before the next general election!) It looks as though the changes to taxes we can expect will include:

- Increase in IBI (equivalent to council taxes)

- Increase in income tax

The increase in income tax will not apply to everyone. However, increases to IBI impact on us all. At this stage we can't be sure just how much this annual property tax will go up by. Don't worry we'll be letting you know!

In addition there are to be continued efforts to cut down on fiscal fraud. The latest is setting a limit on how much of a bill can be settled in cash. Watch out all those jobbing builders.

Let's compare flights

A few issues of the newsletter ago we did a comparison of luggage allowances and restrictions between airlines. As debate continues to rage between cheap and cheerful and slightly more expensive we thought we'd take a look at those added extras budget airlines are happy to throw on top.

We rounded charges to the nearest pound to make the job a little easier. It did in fact take a long time to complete this table which is perhaps an indication of just how difficult airlines make it to know exactly what costs you will incur. Either that or I'm just not very good at reading the small print!

At the bottom of each column is the total cost of a flight using the airline from a UK airport to Alicante in February. The date and airport cannot be identical for all flights but it gives an idea. The flight does not include any extras (speedy boarding or seat reservation) but does include one piece of hand luggage. It is calculated according to a debit card booking.

It was a very interesting exercise. The differences between airlines in terms of adding fees as you went along was astounding. The trouble is after you've worked through pages and pages of details to book your flight online you don't feel like starting again with another one even if the costs do mount up.

The aggressive marketing they use to try to sell you extras is disturbing. I soon became fed up of the warnings of what might happen to me if I didn't take out travel insurance. I remember when once upon a time booking your flight and flying was a pleasurable thing to do…