El Pais

[Roger]

Quote
"This has led to the second factor that experts argue is responsible for the disparity in official numbers: municipal enrollment now leaves out EU-members who continue living in Spain but who have not applied for residency. Many mayors in Spain – including the mayor of Torrevieja, José Manuel Dolón – support this argument"

This is very interesting.
Certainly the reported drop in UK citizens is because it is measured by people on the Town Hall padron.
It is interesting that some Town Halls are now applying the law correctly regarding registering on the Padron.
That is to say that according to Spanish law in order to register on the padron you must be habitually resident in the town.
This would rule out around 60% of the British registered on the Arboleas padron and would leave the town losing a lot of government grant.

Of course if the Spanish Tax authority decided to check the pardons (which they have easy access to) they should then demand that if you are on the Padron then you are stating that this is your habitual residence, and therefore you should be registered for Spanish tax on your world wide income.
Because Spanish tax is higher than UK tax (due to the difference in the personal tax allowance) even after the double taxation protection this would result in having to pay thousands a year in extra tax for many.

[Red]

https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/03/07/inenglish/1520417174_976942.html