Cuevas sets the record straight

SHORTLY before leaving office Cuevas del Almanzora’s former mayor refuted media reports surrounding conflictive building taxes.
It was not true that Cuevas del Almanzora Town Hall was ordered to return taxes “irregularly” charged for a development that was never begun. This version was “totally incorrect,” maintained a town hall statement.
The spurious information was particularly serious because it originated in the law office representing the developer, the communiqué continued.
The lawsuit centred on the expiry period for reclaiming the Works and Building Tax (ICIO) paid at the time that the building permit was granted, the town hall explained. The court had to decide whether the four-year period should be calculated from the time that the tax was paid or – as the developer argued – when the project was abandoned.
Although there are precedents for both schools of thought the courts ruled in favour of the developer, the Cuevas statement said.
The delay in granting the building permit was triggered by an outcry when residents learned that the project entailed cutting down a huge old monkey puzzle tree.
The developer and the town hall came to mutual agreement regarding a new site but a subsequent lack of funding, occasioned exclusively by the company’s financial situation, prompted the decision to abandon the project, the statement finished.