Not only is the fiscal pressure exerted by the Generalitat one of the highest in Spain, but also at the local level, five of the ten municipalities in the country with the highest taxes are in Catalonia. Reus and Girona top the ranking of cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants with the highest local taxes. These are data from a report prepared by the Institut d’Estudis (IEE), the think tank of the CEOE employer. The two Catalan cities, plus the Andalusian Sanlúcar de Barrameda, have taxes more than 40% higher than the Spanish average.
Lleida, Tarragona, Gandia, La LÃnea de la Concepción, Elda, Alcoi and Granollers complete the ranking of the municipalities with the highest fiscal pressure. The report analyzes municipal taxation since the 2019 elections. The report finds that at the municipal level, the municipalities of Catalonia, Cantabria and the Balearic Islands present the greatest national regulatory fiscal pressure. In these regions, the local fiscal pressure is “8% above the national average”.
To build the ranking, data from different tax figures that are the responsibility of the town councils are used, such as real estate tax (IBI) or road tax. In the IBI – which is paid by all property owners and which contributes almost 70% of the total collection of the town councils -, in Reus it is 71.7% higher than the Spanish average, while in Girona it is 61.5%. The particular ranking of this tax includes a sixth Catalan municipality among those with the highest IBI: Manresa.
The report provides data on the municipalities with the best fiscal competitiveness after analyzing various variables, such as the types of taxation. In this case, the city with the most fiscal competitiveness is Boadilla del Monte (in Madrid), with a fiscal pressure 34.1% lower than the Spanish average. Majadahonda and Arrecife complete the podium. The rest are Las Rozas de Madrid, Mijas, Sagunto, Dos Hermanas, Alcobendas, Ourense and Getafe.
In the circulation tax called tax on mechanical traction vehicles (IVTM), which represents the second source of financing in local tax matters with 11%, a total of 45 municipalities applied the maximum rate, while six municipalities (Pinto , San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Melilla, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Boadilla del Monte and Majadahonda) applied the lowest quotas allowed by law.
The IEE report recalls that local administrations collect nearly 25,000 million euros annually. These revenues account for 43% of the budgets of local entities.
On the other hand, the work analyzes fiscal competitiveness by autonomous communities. Those with higher than average taxation are Catalonia (23.8% more), the Valencian Community (16.3%) and Aragon (15.3%). On the other hand, those with a lower fiscal pressure are Madrid (-23.8%) and the regional territories of the Basque Country.
