Overseas property buyers looking to buy a home in Portugal will be hit with a controversial tax.
Foreign buyers looking to purchase a home in Portugal that has unspoilt sea views or faces the sun will be hit with a 20 per cent increase in tax.
However, those looking to buy a home which overlooks a cemetery or water treatment plant will receive a 10 per cent tax reduction.
“It’s based on social justice,” said the country’s Socialist government party spokesman Joao Galamba upon announcing the new laws last month. “People object when someone living in a basement and someone living on the top floor with a great view each have to pay exactly the same tax.”
It is believed that the new rule will affect only those homes with a value of 250,000 euros – a relatively small fraction of the Portuguese property market.
The measure has attracted strong criticism, not least because many residential blocks built in Portugal within the last ten years face south to maximize exposure to the sun for energy saving reasons.
Article published 16th January 2017