Juan Carlos Morejón, Finance and Media councillor at Manilva Town Hall, uses the official media outlets where he worked before entering politics, and which he currently runs, to clarify, in an 8-minute news item and a subsequent half-hour interview, that his governing team will not raise any tax for residents, with the exception of the new rubbish tax that comes from the Spanish Government and which will be mandatory for all municipalities without distinction.
«UNOFFICIAL» MEDIA CREATE MISINFORMATION
In his statements, Morejón argues that the existing misinformation on the subject stems from seeking information outside the Town Hall’s own official sources, sources which, it is implied, include this news outlet, which Morejón himself did not hesitate to use during the election period and which reports all the information sent to us by the different parties, trying to verify all news stories with the same professionalism as any other outlet, but respecting political plurality and total impartiality, to the point that we were the only local media outlet to report on the video sent to us by VOX, which has been the trigger for the controversy.
THE CONTROVERSIAL VIDEO
Antonio Marín, an opposition councillor for VOX, published last Tuesday on his social media and on his party’s accounts a video announcing the agreement on the refinancing of the municipal debt that the governing team had signed with the Ministry of Finance (Hacienda), which includes three points:
- Increase the IAE (business activity tax) location coefficients (from 0.4 and 0.5 to 1.4 and 1.5)
- Update public fees and prices
- Increase fees for the provision of basic public services (rubbish tax, Law 7/2022, of 8 April)
- Reduce spending on purchases of goods and services in general (events and festivities)
For Marín, this is tantamount to a rise in all municipal taxes, and he presented it in a jocular tone in a video suggesting that Morejón was not telling the truth after the signing of this document in Madrid. Morejón, in statements to the official media, said: «Marín often speaks from a position of ignorance». The opposition councillor defends himself by saying that what has been signed with Hacienda must be complied with.
For Morejón, the video is a meme that shows disrespect to him as a public representative and to the very institution they represent.
THE PUBLIC HIGHWAY OCCUPATION FEE IS TO BE REINSTATED
One of the taxes that Morejón clarifies in his statements is the public space occupation fee, which has been subsidised for businesses since COVID, a fee that businesses have not had to pay since then and which is planned to be reinstated: «it is not a new fee, it was already there, but what the Ministry of Finance tells us is that we cannot continue subsidising this tax given the debt the Town Hall has».
THE CUT IN IBI FOR 2025 IS COMPLETELY FALSE
Another of the issues the Finance councillor clarifies in his interview is that this Town Hall cannot lower the IBI (property tax) next year and that, despite being a motion approved by majority at one of the latest council meetings, it is no more than «a declaration of intent». If it is not accompanied by economic reports, he says, it is a vote that is worth nothing, and all the publications made by the opposition about a cut in this tax are completely false.
MUNICIPALLY REGISTERED RESIDENTS WILL RECEIVE A DISCOUNT AT THE CREMATORIUM
Another piece of good news from this half-hour interview on the official media is that there are plans to regulate the fees of Manilva’s crematorium, so that insurers from across the province of Málaga do not use these services, which run at a loss for the municipal coffers. Insurers are saving costs because Manilva’s prices, compared with other crematoriums in the area, are well below the average, a cost that is being borne by the municipal coffers. The aim of this measure is to raise the price of this fee for insurers but to maintain it so that local residents «can benefit» from its low cost.
THE INVESTITURE AGREEMENT HANGS IN THE BALANCE
We recall that Marín enabled this governing team, formed by the PP and Izquierda Unida, to govern after signing a pact with the Partido Popular consisting of just three points:
- Audit of the municipal accounts by an external firm (Pending to date)
- Greater funding and staffing for the Local Police, with the aim of increasing security and tackling illegal squatting (In progress)
- Reduction to the maximum permitted by law of the Public Highway Occupation Fee for hospitality businesses and local shops (Becoming complicated)
Of the three points signed in the pact that gave the mayoralty to Fernández, the audit, according to the last council meeting, has not begun, and the reduction of the Public Highway Occupation Fee appears increasingly out of reach because of the agreement signed with Hacienda, which leaves no scope to lower any type of tax. As a result, the relations and one-off agreements needed in this minority government, which requires Marín’s support, are becoming more difficult, making it harder to push through the most important items of municipal management.
