Madrid region cuts taxes for foreign investors in spat with central government

The conservative government of Madrid said on Wednesday it would slash taxes for foreigners who invest in the central Spanish region, a move that seeks to countermand a wealth tax levied by the left-wing national executive.
The proposed legislation is the latest attempt by the region’s firebrand leader, Isabel Diaz Ayuso of the People’s Party (PP), to present Madrid as a business-friendly bulwark against the progressive policies spearheaded by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
In late 2022, Spain’s leftist coalition government launched a temporary “solidarity tax on large fortunes” that effectively annulled the regional exemption from an existing wealth tax practised in Madrid, which in recent years has vied with Miami to attract Latin American fortunes.
Ayuso’s signature bill will deduct 20% of investments in bonds, treasury bills, shares in listed and unlisted companies or contributions to limited companies from the income tax owed by beneficiaries.