Costa Blanca North
Driving dilemma: Benidoleig an unexpected tax haven
By Anna Ellis •
Published: 30 May 2024 • 9:12
This staggering figure, equating to 37 vehicles per person, is indeed perplexing.
While some families might own multiple cars or motorbikes, this ratio seems highly improbable.
This is precisely the scenario in Las Rozas de Puerto Real (Madrid), based on 2023 data.
Tax Advantages
The underlying reason for this anomaly lies in tax-related advantages.
In Spain, there are 10 small towns with an unusually high number of annual vehicle registrations.
Remarkably, five of these towns are in the Valencian Community: one in the province of Castelló, two in València, and two in Alicante.
Among these, one town in the Marina Alta region is a notable automobile tax haven.
Notable Tax Haven
Benidoleig, with only 1,245 residents according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE) as of January 1, 2023, had 4,004 registered vehicles.
The reason drivers choose to register their cars in small towns is due to the significant variation in road tax prices across Spain.
The price differences between municipalities can be as high as 900 per cent, with provincial capital disparities exceeding 150 per cent.
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Originally from Derbyshire, Anna has lived in the middle of nowhere on the Costa Blanca for 19 years. She is passionate about her animal family including four dogs and four horses, musicals and cooking.
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