Altea Announces a Reduction in Waste Tax Affecting 9,000 Homes

The waste tax has become a continuous source of discontent for residents in almost all municipalities in Spain. Over the past year, to align their regulations with European standards, they have been forced to approve significant increases in these bills.

Altea was one of the first municipalities in the Marina Baixa, almost twelve months ago, to adapt to this new reality. However, now, as 2024 comes to a close, it has announced a modification to this ordinance that will significantly ease the financial burden for 9,000 households in the White Town, which will see their bills substantially reduced next year.

To understand how this measure, which goes against what has been approved in surrounding municipalities, was made possible, Altea's Finance Councillor, José María Borja, explained the roadmap.

Borja recalled that in Altea, "like in the rest of Spain, the review is done according to this regulation that requires us to have it ready by 2025." For this, last year, they started "from a proposal made by SUMA Tax Management," which has now been worked on locally with local technicians.

The local Finance official detailed that "SUMA's proposal suggested that zoning should consider two criteria: one, population density based on the number of registered residents, and two, the value of the square meter of land." Therefore, he continued, "SUMA created four zones," but now, after adapting to Altea's local reality, "seeing that the values between scattered and core areas were very similar, it was decided to unify the two zones into one, which will pay 115.41 euros."

Regarding what the bill will reflect in each of these zones, Borja acknowledged that "the urban core will pay 18.01 euros more per year, but the scattered area will go from paying 195.44 euros to 115.41 euros, which means 80 euros less per year. Urbanizations will go from paying 195.44 euros to 145.05 euros, that is, 50.39 euros less. On the coast, it drops from 195.44 euros to 140.16 euros, which is 55.28 euros less."

All this represents reductions that, according to the data provided by Borja, affect more than 9,000 homes with an average amount of 60 euros annually.

Borja also announced "the creation of a specific category as a commercial activity for tourist homes, which will go from paying as a residence to paying as a business 364.12 euros," something that, according to the current census of tourist apartments, will affect 2,269 properties in Altea.

Additionally, José María Borja reported that the review also includes updating the tax on commercial activities, with a slight increase and also "reductions in activities such as offices, real estate, and banks, as they hardly generate waste because specialized companies handle their waste due to data protection issues."