Anger over rents is becoming policy in Spain. A general strike on November 11, the first in 14 years, was followed on November 12 by Congress passing a 10% tax on tourist-rental flats, which could cut into Airbnb's Spanish business. Nothing in the last month argued otherwise, but the People's Party leads the polls and promises repeal if it wins on November 29.
Updated Nov 12
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Spain's last general strike was in 2012, under Mariano Rajoy's conservative government, and it also disrupted transport.
The party most likely to govern after November 29 opposed the strike, voted down the housing decrees, and has pledged to repeal the housing measures passed on November 12, including the 10% tax on tourist flats. If it does, Airbnb's Spanish listings face no new burden, and the strike changes little for the company.
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Unions shut down much of Spain for a day, and trains and flights around Madrid and Barcelona were badly disrupted. Unions called it over wages, housing and the cost of living, after the September eviction and later death of 87-year-old Madrid tenant Maricarmen Abascal set off national outrage over rents.
Rent is now the central issue of a snap election called after Congress rejected the government's housing plans. In Madrid, a small flat costs nearly half a typical salary. Picture a town where every spare room is rented to tourists, so locals find nothing left. That's why voters push leaders to free up homes for residents.
One fast way to free up homes is to restrict or tax short-term rentals, meaning flats let to visitors for a few nights. Airbnb earns a fee on every such stay, so costlier rules in a big tourist country could shrink its listings there.
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