04-10-2012 - Thinking about or planning how to manage the death of a loved one or indeed ourselves is not something which we may often want to consider. However when you chose to travel or relocate and set up a new life in another country, it is important to include thinking and planning for all asp...
Although Lanzarote has no truly indigenous cacti, there is one species of cactus that grows here and on the other Canaries which it would be hard to imagine the island without: Opuntia ficus-indica. This plant is a characteristic feature of the scenery of the north of Lanzarote, especially around th...
In order to be eligible for the 50% discount for residents, passengers must be either Spanish citizens, citizens of other member states of the European Union or citizens of other States that are members of the European Economic Area who can prove that they are resident in the Balearic or Canary Isla...
11/01/2012 Canary Islands/Spain (SB) - In Spain, as in Great Britain or Ireland, home owners are liable for a variety of taxes. For example, there is tax on rental income, tax on furnished holiday lettings and of course council tax. The Spanish equivalent is a kind of income tax for non-reside...
13/10/2011 - European states are turning the screw as far as taxation is concerned. In Ireland, for example, home owners are going to be facing two new bills in future- a flat-rate household charge from the 1st of January, with domestic water metering to follow.
07/10/2011 - Lanzarote is an extremely dry island with no natural source fresh water of its own. With a consumption of 12 million cubic metres of water (2009 figure), Lanzarote could not be the island it is today if it were not possible to desalinate seawater. Ar...
03-10-2011 - Along the road which leads along Lanzarote's north-west coast to Caleta de Famara are fields of Aloe vera. I pass the plantation almost every day, yet I have hardly ever seen anyone working there. Today I'm in luck, though. Jaime Ródenas is very friendly and happy to ta...
No one quite knows why it‘s so difficult to persuade phone and electricity customers to switch to a cheaper supplier, even though a change could mean significant savings. One company which isn‘t complaining about this is Telefónica, the former monopoly, with its well-known blue logos, now operating ...
01-06-2011 Spain/Lanzarote (sb) - Individuals who own property in Spain and who are not resident in Spain pay Spanish income tax in respect of the deemed rental value of their Spanish property. This Spanish tax is not creditable against United Kingdom income tax liability because there is no UK tax ...
If you see people wandering around in the El Jable plain near Famara after the winter rains, it‘s because they‘re in search of the “papas crías“, the desert truffle indigenous to Lanzarote. Even though they are nothing like “genuine“ truffles, their unmistakable mushroomy taste makes them a sought-a...
Many residents and holidaymakers on Lanzarote do not have a landline phone connection but would still like to be able to enjoy the benefits of the Internet, like picking up their e-mails or phoning home for free. The solution to this might be a USB modem. It looks like a USB memory stick, but it h...
28-12-2010 Spain/Lanzarote (sb) - Lanzarote37° gives you a short guide on getting a residencia or NIE number in Lanzarote. We describe what you have to do to get a NIE number, where you have to go and we give some little tips on how to make the process on getting an NIE card as easy as possible.
pain/ La Audiencia Provincial de Madrid (sb) – A businessman bought a top of the range car for 40,000 euros from a used car dealer. After only a few days, the buyer noticed some defects in the car, which had only 23,000 kilometres on the clock i.e. Windows which were chipped and scratched, for examp...
Along the road which leads along Lanzarote's north-west coast to Caleta de Famara are fields of Aloe vera. I pass the plantation almost every day, yet I have hardly ever seen anyone working there. Today I'm in luck, though. Jaime Ródenas is very friendly, and happy to take the time to tell me all ab...
It's rare that you come across people who have emigrated here and who have prepared for their goal of living on Lanzarote so intensely, who were so convinced that they wanted to live here and nowhere else, and who, when asked if they would ever go back, reject the notion almost indignantly. Jasmin B...
Spain (sb) – A customer using an automatic car wash noticed that the roof of his car has been scratched as a result of the poor condition of the car wash. After unsuccessfully claiming compensation, he asked for the official customer complaint forms. When this did not work he turned to his regional ...
Spain (sb) – The law on debtor default passed in July will, in future, force companies to pay their service providers within 60 days. For the public sector, an even shorter period of 30 days will apply. The law will be phased in up till 2013. In the Canaries alone, the public sector has debts o...
