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Operations between non-residents
Operations between non-residents transferring bearer cheques, pesetas or foreign currency must be authorised in advance. The original importation of the means of payment must be justified on form B-i, or declared on form B-3 if such means come from a resident, before the bank can carry out the operation.
This means that, when a non-resident buys a Spanish property from another non-resident, the purchaser must declare his importation of the foreign currency and its exchange into euros, or pay by a cheque on a non-Spanish bank in a foreign currency This is perfectly legal, and many sellers prefer to be paid in their own currency.
For purposes of foreign exchange transfers, the resident may accredit his status by showing his residence card. If you have to prove that you are a non-resident, you must obtain a certificate from the Ministry of the Interior declaring that you are not listed as a resident, and this certificate must be dated at least two months before it is presented.
Bank accounts in Spain
Both residents and non-residents may freely open bank accounts in euros. The accounts of residents and non-residents are distinguished from each other, because different regulations apply to taxation for the resident and the non-resident. The nonresident account is called acuenta extranj era, but for all internal purposes, is exactly the same as the resident’s account.
In addition to your normal current account from which you write euro cheques to pay your normal bills in Spain, you may
wish to take out a Deposit Certificate in euros or other currency. The interest rates will vary because Spanish banks have cut back their interest on deposit certificates, in line with the general drop in Spanish interest rates. In fact, the banks cut back their own rates of interest before they cut back the interest rates they charge on mortgages.
Those residents who presently hold time deposit accounts in Spanish banks should check their interest payments now if they are on a variable-rate scheme. It might be time to discuss this with your investment advisors.
If you are a resident, 18 per cent of your interest earnings will be withheld and paid to the Spanish tax man in your name, just the same as for Spaniards. You may be eligible for a refund on this tax. (See section on You and Your Taxes). If you are a non-resident, no tax will be withheld, but you will be liable for tax in your country of residence.
Any bank operation involving more than €3,000 requires that the payer and the receiver of the amount be identified.
Your normal current account may be paying as low as a miserable one-tenth of one per cent (0.1 per cent) on its average balance, and you will be paying some of the highest bank charges in Europe for routine services. You may be irritated when you discover that your bank has charged you €5 to make a draft for €60 worth of pounds in order to pay for a magazine subscription in your home country, so be sure to ask in advance what these charges will be.
And remember what we said in the first chapter about making sure ofjust how your pension cheque or funds from abroad will be transferred to you in Spain, and just how long it will take from the time of sending to the moment you can write a new cheque.
Many, many people have suffered greatly from delays in the transfer of funds, even when they are sent from a British bank to its branch in Spain, so ask the bank manager how long it will take. You may wish to use one of the rapid bank transfer systems such as SWIFT, which assures you of quickly having the money sent. It costs a little more, but it is probably worth it.
There have been many complaints about high commissions charged on these transfers, as well. Some people have been charged more than 4 per cent when sending money out of Spain. This would be €4,200 on a transfer of €120,000. Other banks charge fees of around €21 per €6,000 of transfer, a total of €420 on the same operation, or one-tenth of the charge.
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