This Friday, the government of Mayor Jaume Collboni presented its proposal for tax ordinances for Barcelona City Council. The project, which faces the first vote next Wednesday, is based on two issues. One, the freezing of taxes paid by residents (except for an increase in the garbage collection rate to which the council is obliged by law, which will be between five and ten euros per year for most households). And two, an increase in tax pressure on economic activities linked to tourism. In this sense, we want to raise the Real Estate Tax (IBI) on the 200 hotels with the highest cadastral value in the city (the largest and most centrally located), and also increase the IBI on “special” properties. such as cruise terminals, port infrastructure or toll tunnels (Vallvidrera). These properties are classified as having special characteristics (Bices) and the idea is that they go from a current tax rate of 0.80% to 1.30% in 2027, in a progressive increase, year by year.
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The project presented by the Deputy Mayor for Economy, Jordi Valls, contemplates other issues such as quadrupling the price that tourist buses pay for parking or eliminating the free blue zone for “zero emissions” category cars. The City Council has detected that in the spaces they occupy there is much less turnover than in the rest, and if they do not pay anything they will pay half as much as the rest of the cars. The ordinances also provide for discounts on the Economic Activities Tax (IAE) for “economic activities declared of special municipal interest”: investment in fixed assets, companies that create quality employment and establishment of hubs of innovation or starter kit. Discounts that will range between 50% and 95% of the IAE. In total, adding the increase in the tourist tax that is applied from this month, the impact of the ordinances if they were applied next year would be almost 43 million euros.
With the proposal, the municipal government seeks to get closer to the commons and ERC, the two parties with which it prioritizes agreeing on the ordinances. On Thursday, the commons asked for an increase in the IBI for hotels with the highest cadastral value, although in a higher proportion than what Valls has explained. The lieutenant has detailed that properties with a cadastral value greater than 5.2 million euros would go from paying 1% to 1.8%, but common properties required 1.3%. Common sources from Barcelona point out that the proposal seems “insufficient” to them. The party also asked to double the price of admission to Park Güell, from 10 to 20 euros, to which Valls responded that it depends on the municipal company BSM, which manages it. However, he has hinted that the rise would not be that high. Regarding the demands of ERC, which ask to raise the tourist tax from four to eight euros, but it depends on the ParliamentValls has recalled that the president Salvador Illa has shown himself in favor of increasing the municipal section of the rate.
Valls did not want to take the vote of the commons and ERC as assured but added: “The ordinances respond to some of the issues that have been raised in the debates. [del Ayuntamiento en las últimas semanas]: no more taxation of citizens, waste tax, fiscal autonomy where we can [en referencia a los Bices] and tourism taxation by management.” At this point he wanted to highlight that tourism taxation “is done from a management point of view.” “If there has been a revaluation of the hotel sector, a notable increase in the value of some hotels, it is necessary to adapt the tax rate to the revaluation of these real estate assets,” he argued, citing studies by international real estate consultants on the revaluation of hotels after operations of trading.
In addition to luxury hotels, the update of the IBI for properties with a cadastral value greater than 5.2 million euros will also affect shopping and leisure centers. Of the total of 233 properties with this value existing in the city, 208 are hotels and of these, 63.5% are managed by heritage companies, the council points out.
