COMMUNITY IN SPAIN

Local taxes when living in a spanish community:

When living in a community in Spain there will be somebody who will be elected as the community president. This will be voted for every year by you (the community) in the annual general meeting. You will receive a formal invitation to the meeting plenty of time in advance so that you can attend. In Spain you will not only pay the national taxes but there are local taxes that need to be paid each year as well however these taxes make your live in Spain more relaxing as you know that certain things will automatically be taken care of. There are 2 types of local taxes that you pay. If you live in a community then you have to pay community fees (Gastos de Comunidad). Paying these fees can include charges for the following things:

• caretaker
  
• local street cleaning
  
• local street, lights and building maintenance
  
• security guard
  
• security monitor and/or gates/doors
  
• cost of newsletter
  
• plus many more...
  

These fees can be paid either quarterly, have yearly or yearly. The normal way to pay your community fees is through standing order but this can vary depending on the community and so you should check. The second type of local taxes that needs to be paid is town hall taxes. These taxes are for the more wide spread amenities such as, sewerage system, main water supply, rubbish collection and town hall property tax (Impuesto de Bienes Inmuebles-IBI). This tax is also usually paid through your bank account. It is always advisable to make sure that you keep up with the payments on these taxes. The cost of the taxes can vary but on average it is about €1000-€1500 a year.

Associations and clubs in Spain:

Once you have been in Spain for a few months you may fin that you start miss speaking English or just simply that you have not made as many friends as you would have liked to. You may feel that it is not how you had expected it but there are plenty of association/clubs in Spain for people just like you. Most of them have been set up by people who moved to Spain feeling just like that. You will be surprised, there are things for everybody; books, films, cards an even just a chance for you to meet up with other people and have a chat. These may not be always be in English. The ones that are in English you may find helpful for finding somebody who you can learn Spanish with. You will properly find that once you have started to make some friends then you will feel so much more settled in to your new home.