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Opposition Parties Force Carmena To Reduce Business IBI

1 October 2015 – Expansión

The opposition parties in the Town Hall of Madrid (namely, the Partido Popular, PSOE and Ciudadanos) have put paid to the plans of the mayoress, Manuela Carmena, to increase the IBI rate for businesses and companies to 10%. In fact, they forced an agreement for it to be decreased by 2%. (Earlier in the week), all of the political parties, including Ahora Madrid, approved a 7% reduction in the residential IBI rate, and now, the opposition parties have forced a 2% decrease in the business rate.

The agreement by the plenary session represents an overall decrease of 100% for residential properties, as well as for the vast majority of non-residential properties. The 7% reduction in the property tax, will decrease the tax from its current rate of 0.548% to 0.51%.

Moreover, the majority – the result of the vote went against Ahora Madrid – approved a commitment to continue to reduce the rate of IBI for residential properties to 0.4%, the minimum rate set by law, “respecting the payment of expenses approved by the government, as well as sustainability”.

Meanwhile, the PP congratulated itself after some of the proposals it had presented to the plenary session were approved, including: zero taxes for entrepreneurs for the first two years (…).

In the same way, it indicated that large companies should not have to pay taxes for having “larger” buildings since “the rate of IBI is progressive and so it does not make sense for smaller clinics to pay a lower rate of IBI than public hospitals”.

Begoña Villacís, from Ciudadanos, said that the Town Hall should have a “single discourse” regarding the payment of debt, and the tourist tax. Moreover, she said that her party proposes a reduction in taxes and that the Town Hall should support the cadastral review plan.

The socialist Ransés Pérez Boga pointed out that on 22 July the plenary session approved a decrease in the rate of IBI, after it had been proposed by his party. He advocated a decrease in the rate of business IBI “to maintain the social progressive nature of the tax charge”. In his judgement, the reduction will allow companies to retain their employees.

Original story: Expansión (by Mercedes Serraller).

Translation: Carmel Drake