'In a landmark legal victory, Britons who sold a property in Spain during the Costas boom years have been told they are now entitled to claim a 20% tax refund from the Spanish government. The European Court of Justice has ruled that the Spanish government was breaking the law when it charged 35% capital gains tax on the sale of property by non-residents between 1997 and 2006. The inflated rate trap was a whole 20 percentage points above the charge for Spanish citizens selling their homes - which has stood at 15% throughout the period - and contravened European Community Treaty rules.' More here:

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=494207&in_page_id=2&ct=5