La The Spanish Association of Manufacturers of Lightweight Facades and Windows (Asefave, the abbreviation in Spanish) is meeting with representatives of different public administrations and institutions interested in the proposal launched by the association in relation to promote refurbishment in our country.
For Asefave, this is a key measure to achieve energy saving and greenhouse gas reduction targets. The sectorial association holds meetings with different Autonomous Communities focused on the promotion of the refurbishment sector.
In this regard, Galicia has introduced as a novelty in the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) for 2019, a deduction for energy efficiency improvement works in residential buildings or single-family homes, including the replacement of windows and enclosures. . Specifically, taxpayers will be able to deduct up to 15% of the total amounts invested in the refurbishment of their homes up to a maximum of €9,000.
This tax initiative joins the one launched by the Provincial Council of Vizcaya last May, the ‘Bizkaia aurrera!’ plan, which includes the ‘Plan Renove Etxea 2020’ t o support the carrying out of works in ordinary homes, which includes aid and subsidies to renovate the windows of these dwellings.
This programme offers a transitional tax deduction of 10% for renovations to the main residence or a deduction for renovations with a minimum budget of €3,000 and a maximum of €15,000 (maximum deduction of €1,500).
Complementary measures
The taxinitiatives launched by Galicia and the Provincial Council of Vizcaya are in line with the proposal made public by Asefave on different occasions consisting of a tax relief programme through the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) as long as the new windows have specific technical specifications and the replacement is carried out by an accredited company (or self-employed).
A deduction in the IRPF that Asefave believes should be complemented by other advantages aimed at the creation of a new tax system favourable to energy refurbishment through the Transfer Tax or the Real Estate Tax or exemptions in other municipal taxes such as the Tax on Constructions, Installations and Works, building licences, etc.
A ‘special’ VAT to boost energy efficiency
ASEFAVE’s Position Paper on tax benefits for the window and light façade sector, supported by different organizations in the construction sector and which is arousing so much interest among Spanish public administrations, includes different proposals aimed at promoting energy refurbishment in Spain.
Among them, the ‘green’ VAT linked to energy efficiency renovation actions stands out, but not only for windows, but for any product used in this operation. This point is supported, among other organizations, by the Spanish Confederation of Associations of Manufacturers of Construction Products (CEPCO). A measure that, for example, has already been implemented in neighbouring countries, such as France with the Crédit d’impôt pour la transition énergétique (Cite).
The Spanish Association of Manufacturers of Lightweight Facades and Windows sees the application of a ‘green’ VAT as essential to achieve the transition to energy-efficient enclosures.
This is why Asefave has been calling for a specific tax rate for these refurbishment actions in Spanish homes, which would quickly boost the refurbishment sector. A measure that, for the association, is key to achieve the energy saving and greenhouse gas reduction targets set by the European Union and assumed by Spain.
In this sense, taking as a reference the document ‘Roadmap for the diffuse sectors to 2020’ prepared by the Spanish Climate Change Office, by acting on dwellings built before 2001, the release of 4.8 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere per year could be avoided.
By InfoConstrucción
