Getting to grips with the taxman

HORROR stories abound on Spain’s Costas about people who failed to get to grips with local taxes. Bank accounts have been blocked and some victims have even lost property because they were unaware that the deadline for paying a local tax had come and gone.

Paying taxes is every citizen’s obligation but keeping abreast of them can be an even greater challenge for residents whose knowledge of Spanish is sketchy, said Marisa Cortes, Alfaz del Pi’s councillor responsible for the town hall Treasury.

Alfaz Council in collaboration with SUMA, Alicante Province’s official tax collecting body, is launching a scheme that is aimed at removing some of the stress for foreign residents.  The town hall will distribute leaflets setting out the tax calendar with information in English, French and German, Cortes explained.

“These list all the details that residents of other nationalities need to know in a way that is as clear and direct as possible,” said the Finance councillor.

“On the one hand they will know the deadlines for paying each tax and on the other the scheme will explain the different ways in which payments can be made.”