Von Christof Gonzenbach
For years, people from northern and central Europe have been welcome on the Canary Islands as tourists, long-term visitors or residents. After all, we bring money to the islands – and plenty of it. Yet that is apparently no longer enough for some locals.
Initially, calls were made to restrict tourism. This was to be achieved either through visitor’s taxes and other levies, or by limiting the supply of holiday accommodation – known as ‚viviendas vacacionales‘ – and imposing additional, sometimes oppressive, requirements on those providing it. Groups with close ties to the Socialist Party (PSOE) are actively supporting these efforts, for example through the demonstrations known as ’20A‘ on 20 April. These involve human chains and a hunger strike. Anti-tourism graffiti is also appearing on walls with increasing frequency.
The next group to be targeted is long-stay holidaymakers, most of whom arrive for periods ranging from a few weeks to six months during the winter. They are not tax residents here and, if certain quarters have their way, will no longer be permitted to purchase residential property in future.
Residents already pay tax on their pensions in the Canary Islands
Finally, Carlos Alonso, the former president of the Cabildo Insular of Tenerife and candidate for the Council of Europe representing the political party Coalición Canaria (CC), is now also targeting genuine expats: in future, they are to be subject to „a kind of environmental tax“.
Yes, we foreigners also need water and produce rubbish. But we residents are also liable for tax here and not only pay a relatively high property tax (IBI) but also declare our pensions – which, it should be noted, we receive from our home countries – as income for tax purposes. This has a significant impact on the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Canary Islands. The fact that a high-ranking member of the CC, of all people, is taking this line shows that the writing is on the wall.
Many residents of the Canary Islands come from other parts of the world
So they no longer want us foreigners who pay taxes, support the economy and bring in money. On the other hand, week after week, migrants from Africa are being rescued from the waters off the Canary Islands – at great cost to the asylum system. They will probably never repay this – neither directly nor indirectly through taxes.
Back to the topic: All (tax) residents not born in the Canary Islands – particularly those from Europe and South America – now account for 22 per cent of the Canarian population. If we include non-residents who are long-term residents, this figure is likely to be significantly higher still. So it is high time that we foreigners were given a voice and became a political force to be reckoned with in the Canary Islands.
A political party of our own for foreigners in the Canary Islands?
And there is a way to achieve this: after all, EU citizens in Spain have the right to vote at local council level, so they can both stand for election to local councils and cast their vote for like-minded candidates. This is important, as it is well known that many political decisions are delegated down to local council level.
What is needed, then, is for committed residents from the European Union in every local authority to join forces and put forward candidates in the next elections in 2027. The best way to achieve this would probably be through a multinational umbrella organisation that could be supported by all immigrants – whether they are eligible to vote or not: a sort of Canary Expats Party (CEP), for example.
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