As of the 1^st January 2013, the general obligation for every company which, not being resident in Spain, owns rights in rem in respect of real property in our country, to pay 3% of the cadastral value of such real property every year, has been removed. The repealed rule did provide for certain instances where this levy did not have to be paid, such as non-resident companies with residence in a country which has a Taxation Agreement in place with Spain whose shareholders or ultimate beneficiaries are also resident in such a country or territory, but in order to be granted exemption, it was necessary to apply for it to the Public Treasury on a yearly basis by filing the form called Modelo 213 along with certificates issued by the tax authorities of the relevant country providing evidence of the company’s fiscal residency in that country, as well its shareholders’ or beneficiaries’.

From this year onward, this tax will only have to be paid by ‘companies with residence in a tax haven’. This also means that the preceding system continues to be in force for non-resident companies – whether or not they are resident in a fiscal haven – which owned property or rights over real property in Spain as at 31/12/2012, which will therefore have to pay the Special Levy for 2012 before the 31^st January 2013 or otherwise apply for exemption as aforesaid.