The Estepona City Council allocates more than 7 million euros to reduce the IBI and exempt vulnerable groups from the waste fee after achieving zero debt.
The Estepona City Council has launched a historic tax cut that will save residents more than 7 million euros, according to the municipality. The measure, which is being implemented this year, focuses on reducing the Property Tax (IBI) for registered residents and exempting the most vulnerable groups from paying the waste fee.
This reduction is possible after the municipality achieved ‘zero debt’ a year ago, having paid off over 300 million euros of inherited debt from 2011. The governing team, led by Mayor José María García Urbano, eliminated the burden that required a daily payment of 60,000 euros and is now redirecting those funds to ease the tax burden.
The IBI bill in Estepona has seen an average reduction of 50% since 2012. Additionally, an extra 3% discount is applied to both the IBI and the Economic Activities Tax (IAE) and the waste fee for those who have set up direct debit payments and make them during the voluntary period.
The mayor emphasized that with these measures, “the City Council continues to show its fiscal support to all families in Estepona, especially to the most vulnerable groups, maintaining the commitment not to raise taxes on citizens and to provide aid to those who need it most.” García Urbano added that this has been achieved “without compromising investments or service provision, which, on the contrary, have been strengthened.”
The registration discount for individuals is applied automatically on the bill. As for the waste fee, retirees and long-term unemployed residents are exempt, benefiting around 1,812 bills.
The municipality has also activated a pioneering measure: a 3% discount on the waste fee for citizens who make at least three deliveries a year to the clean point for waste that does not have public containers. This initiative aims to promote recycling and environmental protection.
The City Council has indicated that these reductions are possible “thanks to the fact that the City Council has put municipal accounts in order and maintains a policy of rigor and control of spending, being one of the municipalities in Spain that invests the most publicly per inhabitant to stimulate the local economy.”
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