Soltalk January 2019 | Page 32

Issues with Local Tax Bills This year, we have been receiving notifications, on behalf of some of our clients, from the Town Hall and ‘Patronato de Recaudación’ regarding unpaid local tax bills (IBI, rubbish and Vehicle Entrance), especially for the Nerja and Torrox areas. The direct debits cannot be re-arranged until all pending local tax bills are paid. In order to try and avoid this from happening in the future, it is imperative that property owners ensure that there are sufficient funds in their bank account, and that they monitor whether or not the automatic payments are being deducted from the designated bank account. There appear to be several reasons for this. One being that the ‘Catastro’ periodically update their records and revalue properties without prior warning. Meaning that they then issue a backdated IBI bill with the amount of IBI owing based on the updated valuation of the property; they are only allowed to issue a backdated bill for up to four years previous. It is also important to mention that the ‘Patronato de Recaudación’ recently experienced some administrative issues, and all IBI bills were issued late this year. There have also been issues with the local tax bills for some areas of Torrox, in that the majority have not been printed correctly. This means that these bills need to be checked and confirmed with the ‘Patronato de Recaudación’ before payment. Another reason is that the direct debits are being cancelled because of insufficient funds in the account, or due to a change of title name on the bills, or because the ‘Patronato de Recaudación’ does not have the property owner’s NIE number on record (they cannot issue any bill without this information). If property owners have any doubts about the payment of the local tax bills (particularly in the Torrox area), or they are not receiving the bills in their name (or any at all), please contact Helen Bacon direct at [email protected] or call +34 952 527 014. If the bank rejects a payment, the direct debit will be automatically cancelled and the ‘Patronato de Recaudación’ is under no obligation to inform or notify anyone. If a direct debit is arranged before a change of title is actioned, the direct debit will be cancelled once the bill is in the name of the new owner; the title of the bill and the bank account holder cannot differ. Again, the ‘Patronato de Recaudación’ is under no obligation to inform or notify anyone of the cancellation, therefore, it is better to arrange the direct debits once the change of title has been actioned. De Cotta Law (De Cotta McKenna y Santafé) Mijas-Costa / Calahonda – Coín – Nerja – Tenerife Nerja Office: - Calle Diputación 11, 29780 Nerja Tel: +34 952 527 014 - Fax: +34 952 523 428 www.decottalaw.com 30