FREE COPY THE NEWSPAPER FOR Malaga slip SOUTHERN SPAIN right back to Official market leader Audited by PGD/OJD square one March 3rd to 9th 2017 www.surinenglish.com The renewed optimism around the club has News 2 What To Do 46 quickly faded after 24 51 Comment My Home back-to-back league Lifestyle 26 Sport 57 Food & Drink 37 Classified 63 defeats P60&61 in English Health & Beauty 39 Pastimes 70 A FIGHTER TO THE END Top Whitehall official visits Costa to listen to Pablo Ráez’s death has brought widespread grief and recognition for his bone marrow campaign P12 Brexit concerns Around 30 people representing various businesses and associations attended the meeting Whitehall-based Julia Longbottom, the head of Britain’s consular serv- ices across the world, visited the province of Malaga last week to lis- ten to the concerns and issues be- ing raised among the UK expat com- munity on the Costa del Sol. Health care, pensions, dual nationality and various other aspects that might change after the UK’s exit from Europe were discussed at the meet- ing in La Cala de Mijas and Longbot- tom promised to present the mat- ters raised during the visit on her return to London. P22 Andalucía sees big increase in foreign tourists in January as tourism chiefs gear up for top travel fair in Berlin P4 Pablo’s iconic gesture was present at a number of Andalucía Day events across the region on Tuesday. :: EFE Government promises that Costa beaches will be back to normal in time for Easter after recent spell Malaga airport roadworks bring of bad weather P8 passenger drop-off confusion Drivers are now For the past week, those wishing to offered as the alternative. Motor- This is a sentiment echoed by drop off passengers at Malaga Air- ists have a 15-minute grace period minibus operators and car hire as- forced to turn into port have been redirected to the to unload bags and their travellers sociations who have joined voices :: ÑITO SALAS short-stay car park as the airport before having to pay the full rate. to condemn the adverse effects set short-stay car park authority (Aena) carries out im- This new system has drawn criti- to be inflicted in the form of addi- Costa town halls fear provement works around the new cism from airport users caught in tional costs to businesses which where they have terminal building. bottlenecks who argue that the 300 could see them lose income. funding black hole after just 15 free minutes The drop-off zone is now tempo- places available are insufficient. Sev- Among the solutions currently ‘plusvalía’ tax rules on rarily unavailable due to redevelop- eral, who have been caught out by put forward is a move to terminal 1 property are challenged to unload ment work on the airport’s access a matter of seconds, also complain which is currently not being used following court ruling P44 roads, with the short-stay car park that the allotted time is too short. for commercial flights. P9 Marbella town hall is Urban gardening, helping currently setting up 1,000 urban gardens for the unemployed and elderly individuals, associations and schools P26 22222222 March 3rd to 9th 2017 NEWS SUR IN ENGLISH Town halls fear losing money through change to property ‘plusvalía’ tax rules Mayors admit that it is WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY unfair to charge the Juan José Hinojosa added-value levy when Professor in Financial Law there has been no profit “This is national law, on a property’s sale, but meaning a town hall has no they continue to charge it choice but to apply it” while the law still stands :: N. TRIGUERO / F. JIMÉNEZ Eugenio Martínez-Echevarría Officially, it is called the tax on the Mnez-Echevarría legal firm Increased Value of Urban Land “In the past month we (IIVTNU), but it is commonly known as the ‘plusvalía’, or value-added tax. have received about 600 Many lawyers are now starting to enquiries from people who consider ‘plusvalía’ to be the new have been affected” mortgage floor rate clause, because it is possible that a change in the law could result in 35,000 people in Ramón Blesa Malaga province alone claiming a re- Notary fund because they were forced to “If there has been no pay it during the past four years. ‘Plusvalía’ tax has to be paid increase in value this tax is when a property is sold or acquired absolutely unjustifiable and through inheritance or as a gift, be- incoherent” cause its value will have increased over time. For local councils this, together with another property tax, the IBI, has helped to offset until it forces the government to the fall in income during the worst modify the Law of Local Taxation. years of the economic crisis. How- In fact, the possibility of the tax be- ever, town halls are now rather wor- ing unconstitutional has already ried, because the Constitutional been raised and the Constitutional Court recently decreed that it is Court is expected to announce its unfair to charge this tax when there new, nationwide decision regard- is no profit from the transaction: ing that question soon. for example, if someone sells a The Spanish finance ministry is property for less than they paid for already considering how this regu- it they should not have to pay any lation could be reformulated, but ‘plusvalía’. Malaga City Hall has created a form so people can claim a refund of the plusvalía tax. :: F. GONZÁLEZ the extent of the reform will de- Why, then, have councils been pend on the forthcoming court de- charging everybody this tax, cision because it has not only ques- whether or not a capital gain was action affecting that property, re- Town Hall Tax rate Tax collected tioned whether it is constitutional involved? The answer is that the gardless of real sale price. The result Malaga 29% 50 mill€ (2016) to charge the tax when there has tax is not calculated on the actual is always the same: tax has to be paid. Marbella 25.5% 24.6 mill€ (2016) been no profit from the sale, but value of the property but upon its The court’s decision only referred Torremolinos 28% 8.3 mill€ (2015) also in cases where the profit turns cadastral or rateable value, to which to one appeal against the applica- Vélez-Malaga 25-28% 6.8 mill€ (2015) out to be less than the amount coefficients are applied, and these tion of plusvalía in the Basque Coun- Mijas 27% 5.2 mill€ (2015) charged in plusvalía. increase in accordance with the try, but the rules also apply nation- Benalmádena 27.5% 15 mill€ (2015) Mayors are concerned about this number of years since the last trans- wide so it is only a matter of time Rincón de la Victoria 29.87% 2 mill€ (2016) uncertainty because they are aware March 3rd to 9th 2017 3 SUR IN ENGLISH NEWS THE MAYORS What is ‘plusvalía’ and How is the amount of Who can claim and how Francisco de la Torre who has to pay it? tax calculated? do they do so? Malaga “I think this is a good time to look claims from people who during the The Tax on the Increased Value The ‘plusvalía’ is calculated by ap- Anyone who has passed title of at a change to local past four years have sold properties of Urban Land (IIVTNU), plying a percentage of the cadastral an urban property to somebody financing” for less than the amount they paid known as ‘plusvalía’, is a na- value of the land, which is also used else in the last four years for for them. tional tax but is charged by lo- to calculate the IBI. This percentage less than they paid for it can Teresa Valdenebro These fears appear to be more cal councils. It is based on the goes up in accordance with the claim a refund of the ‘plus- Ronda than justified: law firms say they increased value of the land amount of time which has passed valía’. The first thing to do is “The reform of the are being inundated with enquir- when a property changes since the last transaction which af- pay the tax and then file a IIVTNU could have a ies from people who believe they hands. It only affects urban as- fected the property, so the more claim. The method of doing this considerable impact have been charged unjustly, and the sets, not those which are classi- years that pass, the higher the coef- will depend on the system un- on the income of town Tinsa valuation agency estimates fied as rustic, and only applies ficient. As an example, in Malaga der which the tax is paid (self- halls” that 35,000 people in Malaga prov- to the value of the land, not the city it ranges from 3.7% when the assessment or by demand). If ince and 550,000 nationally could construction. When the prop- transaction occurs within one year the claim is rejected, the next Víctor Navas be affected. Martínez-Echevarría erty is sold, the tax has to be to 60% after 20 years. Once this step is to appeal to the munici- Benalmádena Abogados, the legal firm which han- paid by the vendor, but, in the base rate is ascertained, the amount pal economic-administrative “This council will dled the first case to be won by a case of an inheritance or gift, is decided by applying the relevant court.