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Spain plans to impose a 100 percent real estate tax on buyers from non-EU countries such as the UK in a bid to improve housing affordability by curbing foreign purchases.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the plan for a punitive property tax, which will apply to non-EU citizens who are not EU residents, as part of a raft of measures aimed at dealing with a ” severe” housing crisis.

Spain is one of many European countries where public anger is growing over the difficulty of finding affordable housing, as property prices soar and construction falls far short of demand.

“The west is facing a decisive challenge: not to become a society divided into two classes, the rich landlords and the poor tenants,” said Sánchez as he opened a set of 12 steps.

This is a developing story