Vélez-Málaga announces reduction in IBI and Plusvalía tax by three million euros per year

Vélez-Málaga town hall announced on Tuesday that it will be reducing the IBI tax rate for a second year, which will have a direct impact on the 2023 bill. Property owners in the Vélez-Málaga area are also set to see a reduction in IBI in 2022.

"As part of our commitment to reduce the tax burden and as we stipulated a few months ago, we were going to implement a 0.68 per cent reduction in the IBI tax rate, which will mean a drop in revenue for the municipal coffers over the next two years of 2. 110,455 euros and which will be reflected in the next IBI bills," explained finance councillor David Vilches.

Mayor of Vélez, Antonio Moreno Ferrer, stressed that "reducing the tax burden on citizens is possible thanks to a cohesive municipal government and approved budgets that bring economic and political stability to the town, which has an impact on a better quality of life for our residents and to invest in municipal services and improvements aimed at generating employment.”

The mayor highlighted that the town hall is working on three areas: individuals, businesses and the self-employed to alleviate the effects of the current social and economic crisis. "On the one hand, social aid for families, on the other, aid for commerce and, thirdly, the package of tax reduction measures, which is in addition to other reductions in municipal taxes that we have been applying since the beginning of the pandemic.”

The main opposition party, the Partido Popular (PP), have criticised the announced measures as "an absolute rip-off,” adding, "They raise the tax rate but reduce existing benefits." With regard to IBI, the PP believe that "a more generous reduction in the tax rate could be proposed, and the proposals to reduce IBI and Plusvalía tax could be presented individually, as they are both independent tax concepts.”

The PP also said that from the beginning of the 2022 financial year, local councils have the chance to rebate up to 50 per cent of the full amount of IBI for those homes in which electric vehicle charging points are installed. This initiative has recently been introduced in the Law of Local Treasuries by the Royal Decree 29/2021, of 21 December 2021, which adopted measures to promote electric mobility and the use of renewable energies.

However, this is an optional rebate, which each local council may incorporate into its tax rules. The Royal Decree states that councils "may regulate a rebate of up to 50 per cent of the full amount of the tax in favour of properties in which charging points for electric vehicles have been installed". It goes on to state: "The application of this rebate will be conditional on the installations having the corresponding approval by the competent administration.”