Laurence Dollimore
A NEW study by the Spanish tax authority has revealed the richest towns in Malaga and the whole of Spain.
In Malaga, Benahavís, Rincón de la Victoria, Malaga capital, Marbella and Alhaurín de la Torre are the ones with the highest average gross incomes.
The Treasury data from 2015 – the latest available and which includes all Spanish towns with more than 1,000 inhabitants – refers to both the gross personal income of the declarants (before reductions, minimums and deductible expenses) and an estimate of disposable income.
Known along the Costa del Sol as having the ‘richest town hall’, it’s no surprise that Benahavis is the richest town in Malaga province, with an average gross annual income of €28,428.
Second is Rincón de la Victoria, with a gross average income of €27,003.
Next comes Malaga city with €24,463, Marbella with €24,182 and rounding out the top five, Alhaurin de la Torre, with €24,066.
Rental costs have also increased compared to year before.
Benahavis has overtaken Rincon de la Victoria as the municipality with the highest rent in the province.
Málaga capital maintains its position of third while Marbella rises to the fourth place to the detriment of Alhaurín de la Torre, which is now fifth.
At the bottom end, the lowest average income in the province is in Almáchar, with a gross average of €12,363.
It is followed by Arenas on €12,678, Benamargosa €13,001, El Burgo €13,126 and Comares €12,321.
In total, Tax Agency data shows that the average gross income of the more than 596,000 taxpayers in the province of Malaga reached €22,175 euros in 2015, 3.2% higher than the year before.
The average disposable income also rose by 4.2%, from €17,933 to €18,695 euros.
Despite growth, Malaga is still €3,400 below the national average gross income of €25,582.
However it is €783 euros above the Andalucian average of €21,392.
Richest in Spain
At the national level, Pozuelo de Alarcón in Madrid, with an average gross income of €69,136 euros, is the richest in Spain yet again.
It is followed by Sant Fruitós de Bages in Barcelona (€67,806), Boadilla del Monte and Majadahonda in Madrid (€52,770), Matadepera in Barcelona (€51,058) and Las Rozas in Madrid (€50,968), according to data from the Tax Agency.
Benahavís, is ranked 172 nationwide.
In total, the data showed that the average gross income of the more than 18.89 million personal income taxpayers in Spain reached €25,582 in 2015, 3.1% more than the year before.
Don’t trust into statistics that you did not fake yourself.
What we see is, which income had been “declared” by the Spanish taxpayers. This is quite different from what they have earned in reality. And what about people who live in Malaga Province but pay their tax in another country or have earnings but don’t pay taxes?
Also “average” is a vague statement.
Is it the arithmetic mean of all income? In this case, the “average” of a millionaire and a individual with earnings of 100€ will be 500,050 Euros.
Or is it the Median income. In this case, the income of taxpayer number 298,000 out the of the 596,000 taxpayers is the “average” income.
Indeed Wolfgang. As Disraeli (probably said) “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies and statistics”.