Holiday home owners in Tenerife confess they do not mind paying tax if it saves the Spanish island becoming Cornwall 2.0. Before the Express landed in Tenerife to cover a protest against overtourism – and the way politicians are handling it – we spoke to Dougie, 55, and his wife of the same age, Hayley from Southampton on the flight out there. The couple said they understood residents’ concerns, mentioning cruise ships, which they feel should be taxed. Dougie said those sailing get “completely smashed” onboard, as the vessels are “billowing pollution into the atmosphere”.
The engineer added: “5,000 people go off and get buses around, then all go back for lunch. All these places are super full, but local cafes really don’t make money at all.” Hayley said: “It takes business away from the local people, doesn’t it? They don’t buy from all the towns – they just stuff their faces on the cruise ships”. The couple does not mind paying a non-resident tax, partly because they do not want the area “turning into Cornwall”, which is “much worse” as locals struggle to afford to live in villages. Dougie mentioned Padstow as an example, which has been described a “London-on-Sea”.
A proliferation of second homes in the county has resulted in it becoming more difficult for those who grew up in the region to buy or rent there.
Cornwall Council has started charging an additional 100% council tax premium on houses that are not primary residences.
“The Spanish have been quite sensible,” Dougie said. “We pay non-resident tax because I think it’s fair. We don’t really use local services, but you’re paying money into the economy.”
Spain is planning to roll out a levy of up to 100% on the value of properties bought by non-residents from countries outside the EU.
The country’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said in January that non-EU residents bought 27,000 properties in the country in 2023.
“There’s a lot of people around and they’ve got more leisure time,” Dougie said. “If you think of the way the world is going with AI and all that, people are going to have more leisure time.”
Dougie then mentioned that lots of people from eastern Europe, including the Baltic states and Lithuania, are coming to Tenerife, with some becoming buy to let landlords.
Although, Dougie also told me that there’s “always two sides to the ledger”, and he does not see campaigners’ logic, as tourists pay money into the local economy.
He asked what else would provide an income, and suggested that there are no natural resources on Tenerife except bananas.
The locals they speak to while holidaying in Tenerife are “supportive of tourism because it’s their livelihood”.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
