La constitucionalidad del Impuesto catalán sobre Viviendas Vacías

Abstract

One of the objectives of Catalonia is to reduce the stock of empty houses and increase their readiness for social rent. For that reason, on the 21st of July 2015, the Catalan Parliament has approved the Empty Houses Tax, which will tax the breach of the social function of homeownership. However, this tax will be required only to legal entities. In this context, the main objective of this paper is to analyze the constitutionality of this tax, evaluating, at the same time, its effectiveness as a measure to implement a social policy aimed at protecting the constitutional right of access to decent housing.