# United Nations Pension



## JuneWhite (May 25, 2020)

Hello,

Does anyone know, or know of anyone who has retired on a UNJSPF (United Nations) pension in Spain?

I have heard (2nd hand) that such pensions are legally designated as tax free in Spain BUT this is ignored by the local authorities and one has to pay the tax and then take the tax office to court based on the legal ruling (41091330042003100273
Tribunal Superior de Justicia. Sala de lo Contencioso Sevilla)

Does anyone, by any chance, know any more about this or a lawyer thats handled such a case?

Thanks

J


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

JuneWhite said:


> Hello,
> 
> Does anyone know, or know of anyone who has retired on a UNJSPF (United Nations) pension in Spain?
> 
> ...


Interesting. I have a UN pension but part of it is taxable in UK. Would be wise to find an international tax lawyer.


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

It appears they are only completely tax-free in certain countries (and those countries do not include the UK or Spain, otherwise tax depends on the legislation of the country where you are tax resident.

Information on this link is incomplete and unconfirmed - it is still in the open for editing, correction and confirmation at this time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_pension


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## JuneWhite (May 25, 2020)

Isobella said:


> Interesting. I have a UN pension but part of it is taxable in UK. Would be wise to find an international tax lawyer.


Yes it very interesting. I have now a copy of the legal ruling by the Supreme Court in Seville and its very clear that they are in fact non-taxable under Spanish law.

My preference is for a Spanish lawyer who has handled such a case, I am sure there are quite a few ex-staff who have gone through the process with a lawyer. I just need to track down either a retiree or a lawyer who has gone through it.


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## RobertZ (Jun 30, 2020)

JuneWhite said:


> Yes it very interesting. I have now a copy of the legal ruling by the Supreme Court in Seville and its very clear that they are in fact non-taxable under Spanish law.
> 
> My preference is for a Spanish lawyer who has handled such a case, I am sure there are quite a few ex-staff who have gone through the process with a lawyer. I just need to track down either a retiree or a lawyer who has gone through it.


"I have now a copy of the legal ruling by the Supreme Court in Seville and its very clear that they are in fact non-taxable under Spanish law."

I have the same question, working with a multilateral organisation where Spain has signed its treaty confirming salaries of the employees are not taxable in Spain. The question remains always if this extends to pension payments of such ex employees as well. If you have such legal ruling, it would be great if you could share it and provide a link to it so that others can use this as well to advance their case. Many thanks, Robert


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## JuneWhite (May 25, 2020)

To bring this to a close for anyone looking at this in the future. I have now consulted with a tax specialist as well as a large law firm.

Under the law the pension is tax free. BUT there is no guarantee that the regional tax offices will follow the law, so one has to take them to court to get the tax charges back. Then, apparently, there is no guarantee that the tax authorities will even respect the courts judgement. Legal fees are also not capped and the chances of getting costs are slim.

So in the end I have decided that I am too old to go through this and will not become tax resident in Spain. Chances are my tax "home" will be UK or Portugal as both are tax rates at 10% for me (10 years in Portugal and up to 25 years in UK).

If anyone does go further this do let us know. And good luck :+)


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## JuneWhite (May 25, 2020)

RobertZ said:


> "I have now a copy of the legal ruling by the Supreme Court in Seville and its very clear that they are in fact non-taxable under Spanish law."
> 
> I have the same question, working with a multilateral organisation where Spain has signed its treaty confirming salaries of the employees are not taxable in Spain. The question remains always if this extends to pension payments of such ex employees as well. If you have such legal ruling, it would be great if you could share it and provide a link to it so that others can use this as well to advance their case. Many thanks, Robert


Yes it applies to pensions, the ruling clearly says the pension is an emolument and therefore not subjected to taxes as per the agreement between Spain and the UN. The legal document number is noted in my first post.


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## JuneWhite (May 25, 2020)

Roj: STSJ AND 748/2003 - ECLI: ES:TSJAND:2003:748
Id Cendoj: Órgano: Sede: Sección: Fecha: No de Recurso: No de Resolución: Procedimiento: Ponente: Tipo de Resolución:
41091330042003100273
Tribunal Superior de Justicia. Sala de lo Contencioso Sevilla
4
17/01/2003
478/2001
CONTENCIOSO
HERIBERTO ASENCIO CANTISAN Sentencia


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