Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)ANDALUCIAN town halls have planned to stockpile an extra 25 per cent in fines this financial year.
The crisis-faced councils hope to raise 60 million euros through charges after central government dramatically cut regional funding.
The “emergency” plans emerged after Spanish PM Jose Luis Zapatero announced that 1.2bn euros would be cut from local authority budgets.
Malaga town hall estimates to amass some 17m euros alone through penalties this year – a 26.4 per cent increase on 2009’s takings.
Just under 10m euros will be accrued through traffic fines and a further 4.5m from town planning offences.
Meanwhile, a 23 per cent rise in fine taking has been earmarked by Sevilla town hall.
Although 8.9m euros went into last year’s town hall coffers, officials are targeting an 11.3m hall for 2010.
But council chiefs insisted the rise would be down to greater debt-collecting efficiency rather than an outright attack on infringements.
“It’s unfair that some citizens pay their fines while others slipped through the net,” said tax office councillor Nieves Hernandez.
Furthermore, Granada is planning to take 20m euros through fines – double the sum taken in 2008.
And Cordoba officials are hoping to rake in a 33.6 per cent increase in fines.
Cadiz, Huelva and Jaen town halls have yet to release official data while Almeria authorities insisted they plan to fine citizens less.
Is this to keep the brown envelopes full or to spend on public services. If it’s for public services then the fines will only go up to make good the shortfall that disappeared into yesterdays brown envelopes.
If they only collected what they should that would be a start in the right direction. The Catasta is so far out of line with reality people are paying a fraction of what they should or in some cases nothing at all, these uncollected taxes go back years,also water rates uncollected for years.
Uk registered cars and commercial vehicles being driven without road tax or not paying the import tax a massive clampdown would be a quick way to clean up this abuse, and take the money due from these freeloaders