If you are a citizen whose city council will raise your taxes next year, don’t feel alone. The same will happen to many residents of other towns. Although with different intensity, a large part of the Catalan councils are approving ordinances for 2024 with an increase in fiscal pressure. A fact that can be explained by different causes: from the general increase in prices, which also affects municipal administrations, to their historical lack of funding, through the adaptation to higher-ranking regulations. A tax increase that takes place when the residents also suffer the effects of inflation. And, it is not futile to remember, it coincides with the first year of the mandate. Or what is the same, which takes place right after the municipal elections in May.
While in Barcelona there has been no agreement to approve the new ordinances and from January 1 the current ones will remain in force, in the metropolitan area L’Hospitalet gave the green light to an increase in the IBI – the tax largest managed by councils – of 3%. In Castelldefels and Gavà the increase will be 9%, while in Cornellà and Sant Boi 7% and El Prat 10%.
In the north of the Catalan capital there is some restraint. Badalona decided to freeze the IBI, despite the fact that the other rates will increase by 2.5%. In Santa Coloma de Gramenet the increase in the IBI, which can be paid in three installments, and the rest of the taxes will be around 5%. Already in Vallès, in Rubí the IBI will rise by 12% and in Cerdanyola by 11.6%. In the capital of the Maresme, Mataró, the increase will be 3.5% and in the Alt Maresme mayors of ten municipalities agreed to show their concern for the mandatory increase in municipal finances of between 5% and 7% due, they assured, to the “economic imbalance” of the councils.
The situation is similar if we move away from Barcelona. The increase in taxes will be widespread next year in Camp de Tarragona, in municipalities on the Costa Daurada and also in the Terres de l’Ebre. The mayor of Tarragona, Rubén Viñuales, announced that the council he presides over was practically in a “bankruptcy” situation. There the IBI will rise by 7.5% and the terraces by 20%. In Reus, the IBI increase will be 12.5% ??and in Cambrils 9.5%.
In Girona the IBI will grow by 3.6%. In this part of the Catalan territory, Lloret de Mar, with an increase of 11.5%, and Platja d’Aro, with 13%, are some of the municipalities where this tax will increase the most.
Lleida is the exception and there the IBI will drop by 2%, although about fifteen rates will grow by 5.8%. There are many regional capitals in Ponent that have not yet approved the ordinances. Tàrrega, which has indeed done so, decided to freeze most of its rates and Seu d’Urgell raised the IBI by 3.5%. Vielha e Mijaran City Council approved a general update of 14.9%.
Why is this widespread rise taking place? “The financial structure of the councils is not well resolved and they have been suffering from a structural deficit for many years”, replies Meritxell Budó, president of the Association of Municipalities of Catalonia (ACM) and mayor of La Garriga (Vallès Oriental). “The State takes most of the income, the rest goes to the autonomous communities and the councils are the last”, he regrets.
Eduard Rivas, president of the Catalan Federation of Municipalities (FMC), also believes that local financing is an issue that has not yet been resolved. In fact, they have been clamoring for an improvement for a long time. “The councils are taking over under-endowed powers that belong to the Generalitat”, says the also mayor of Esparreguera (Baix Llobregat).
But why this rise now? “In addition to the structural, there are conjunctural reasons”, points out Rivas. “The price of life has increased, also for the councils, who also buy. It is very difficult to keep the services at the same price. In addition, the ruling on capital gains also affects”, he says.
Last year the inflationary clouds were already tormenting, but the municipal elections were just around the corner. “Maybe some council thought it wasn’t the best time. It is also true that the first year of the legislature is key to planning”, considers Rivas. But for the president of the FMC twelve months ago there was a “perfect storm” in the calendar unrelated to the elections: the escalation of prices. “Many governments acted with extreme caution, it seemed that the world would end”, argues Rivas. Thus, many preferred to freeze and wait to see what happened.
In a context where families suffer from inflation, “neighbors can end up getting angry”, says Jordi Giró, president of the Confederation of Neighborhood Associations of Catalonia (Confavc), who warns that differences between municipalities can create “comparative grievances “. He does have a “certain impression” that the electoral calendar has something to do with it, although he endorses that councils need “more resources”. “Where there is an asynchrony is in the collection of waste”, comments Giró.
Certainly, refuse collection rates deserve a separate chapter with big increases like Sabadell’s (see attached information). But these increases are the common denominator in the vast majority of Girona councils. For example, in Roses it will rise by 50% and in Girona, Salt, Lloret or Sant Feliu de Guíxols, by 25%. Although it is not the only one, one of the reasons for this growth is to adapt to the new supra-municipal regulations that dictate that, from 2025, municipalities must cover the costs of collection, transport and management of waste
All in all, the rate of rubbish will rise sharply by 12% in Tarragona, 14% in Reus, 14% in Tàrrega, 19% in La Seu d’Urgell, 33% in Rubí or 30% in Gavà.
