A Spanish activist has revealed why he is so against ‘expats’ moving into his city – blasting their ‘bubble of privilege’ and ‘saviour complexes’.
In a conversation with KLAB, Carlos Ramirez explained how his beef is with certain types of expat, mainly those who work for foreign multi-nationals and are therefore earning staggeringly more than the average person in their chosen barrio.
The Barcelona-based activist says it is unfair that they have so much disposable income, exacerbated by the fact that they can take advantage of the so-called Beckham Law which means they pay much less tax.
He said: ‘These people are white, they are rich… an expat is precisely this, a person who comes here in a privileged position, because they arrive with greater purchasing power, and basically, they benefit from these laws, these rules of the game that are totally unfair, to pay less taxes with this position of privilege, eroding local communities and gentrifying the area.
‘It’s not the same as migration. You can migrate and we include you, you form part of the community, it’s not this. These people (expats) want to be smart alecks.’
Ramirez has a tattoo that reads ‘tourists go home, refugees welcome’, because he wants people to know that his ideas are ‘nothing to do with xenophobia’.
He explained: ‘I see that for people from the global south, European countries have a made a circus out of their countries, they are resorted to living in rubble and they come here to look for a better life.
‘And of course I support them, we take them in, but these ‘expats’ and ‘digital nomads’ come with another vibe, and with a totally opposite mindset.
‘They live in a bubble of privilege, in which they have always gotten their way, and the moment that someone says or points out something they are doing bad, they are thrown for a loop…
‘They say ‘but what is happening? I’m a guiri no? You have to appreciate that I have chosen your city because I am leaving money here’…
‘They see themselves as the saviours of our sinking economy…when really they are not understanding the problem and how they are a part of it.’
The ‘Beckham Law’ allows qualifying foreign professionals relocating to Spain to pay a flat income tax rate of 24% on earnings up to €600,000 for their first six years, rather than the progressive rates that can exceed 45%.
It has seen scores of people move to cities like Malaga and Barcelona (the latter where Ramirez is based), and snap up pricey rental homes and even buy houses and apartments.
Sellers are able to put prices up as they know there are more people who can afford it, but this in turn prices out many locals.
