Except it feels (a bit) like a cage, it's very small and cramped, and there seems to be a constant queue to go through the border with Spain. Would be much more liveable without the cross border issue
Gibraltar has nothing to do with Spain in matter of taxes - it is a english speaking territory with taxes going from none to low depending on the set up. Not sure about corporate taxes, but cap gain taxes have actually gone up lately, in Spain (You might google the topic though, I haven't double checked for a little while)
interesting, yes I better brush up on my geography, never heard of Gilbraltar, other then the rock, thought it was part of Spain
Border issue might be solved by parking in Spain and taking a cab on the other side. Some beautiful (gated) communities to live in on the coast. Nearest big city (Seville or Malaga) is a few hours drive though. World class (wind)surfing sites nearby (Tarifa). I would go for it.
Of course they are well ahead of the rest of the nation. The bulk of the economy there is energy. All energy based micro-economies are doing well right now. OK, ND, UT, and WY are all reaping those benefits too, and all are coincidentally in the top 10 lowest unemployment. If you dig even deeper, the communities like Houston that function almost completely on energy production have wage increases close to 20% and unemployment around 3%.
You mean on the Spanish or Gibraltar side ? I would much rather live on the spanish than gibraltar side of the border if not for tax issues. There is a way to get a resident status in gibraltar without living there btw, in exchange of paying a fixed amount of tax and renting or buying an apartment there.
Sure, that would sound more pleasant. Since I got mingled with wife and kids the tax and residence issue has become more complicated as where they go to school for instance might be elected as my fiscal residence by the local authorities, and it takes much more paperwork to set up any overseas move but when single I never worried too much about this. Never lived in Spain, although familiar with the country and language, but I suspect a bunch of foreigners just live there most of the time without ever sending a tax declaration form to spanish tax authorities, nor beeing backed up by a bullet proof international tax free set up. Tax authorities there are not the meanest in Europe, plus it seems it's often easier to go after the locals (it's difficult to prove the residence of a foreigner in a country, moreover in Europe with the 183 days per year stay rule and the absence of passport stamps when one crosses a Shenghen border). Ongoing crisis in Spain might turn authorities more agressive though, any feedback welcome. Not my favourite country in Europe, but it has its charms.
Malaga to Gibraltar is a nightmare during rush hour. And the only way to efficiently get around Gibraltar and back and forth to Spain border towns is on a scooter, if you are a local. The lines to cross can get long on the Spanish side, La Linea is the border town for Spain and it's unfortunately a cesspool. Head north into the mountains however and the gated communities are beautiful. If that doesn't convince you to stay away, how about having to share the border crossing with the 'busy' runway of the Gibraltar Airport?