The municipal group of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) in Barcelona City Council will ask this coming Friday, at the municipal plenary session in April, that the government chaired by Mayor Jaume Collboni prepare a detailed report on how many expats have settled in the city through the residence visa for investors and teleworkers, as provided for by law 14/2013, and how many foreigners have taken advantage of the tax regime applicable to investors displaced to Spain, as provided for by what is known as the Beckham law.
ERC will formulate this request through a request that bears the signature of the president of the municipal group, Elisenda Alamany. Republicans will argue that an estimated 107,000 community expats reside in Barcelona, but it is unknown how many golden visas there are and how many benefit from the exception that allows non-residents to pay less through the income tax.
ERC calculations indicate that a good part of the applicants come to large cities like Barcelona and that the figure, as noted by the geographer and professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona Antonio López Gay, could represent 10% of the population, this is more of 160,000 people.
The profile of this new type of residents, who due to their high purchasing power is contributing to raising housing prices in Barcelona, is that of a person under 40 years of age, with university studies, who settles in Barcelona for work or educational.
In the argument that it will present on Friday at the municipal plenary session, the ERC group recalls that the main countries of origin of users of the Barcelona Welcome Desk service include Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, India and France, among others. "Privileged migrants - says Esquerra -, especially from an economic or educational point of view, have shown a growing interest in Spain, with a significant increase in applications for residence permits for highly qualified professionals and investors."
This reality, adds ERC, has been reflected in official figures, with a notable increase in applications for residence permits for highly qualified professionals and entrepreneurs, including Golden Visa permits for investors, which offer European residency in exchange for substantial investments. Digital nomads, a new category, have also increased applications for residence permits.
ERC calls for "greater transparency and a better understanding of this demographic phenomenon in Barcelona, including the precise quantification of expats arriving through the Golden Visa and other tax advantages." Likewise, it calls for an exhaustive study on the impact of this immigration on the local economy and in sectors such as the real estate market and commerce.
