Por Redaccion 
The Vélez-Málaga City Council, following the guidelines set by State Law 7/2022, has been forced to implement a new fee for the collection, transportation, and treatment of urban solid waste. This measure to be approved constitutes a mandatory imposition by the central government, implying the acceptance of a new tax that, in no case, represents a new tax or an isolated political decision, but rather compliance with a state-level norm that affects all Spanish municipalities. The implementation of the waste fee has already been approved by the Local Government Board of Vélez-Málaga, a preliminary regulatory step before its consideration by the Municipal Corporation in the next council meeting.
In this regard, the Councilor of Finance of the Vélez-Málaga City Council, Manuel Gutiérrez, has addressed possible misinterpretations and has been clear regarding the implementation of this new fee, stating, "It is an imposition that the government of Pedro Sánchez forces us to comply with, in a scenario where all localities in the country are affected, and we find ourselves tied hand and foot."
The municipal representative has emphasized the disagreement with this requirement, stating, "It is imposed on all local administrations and residents without the possibility of presenting arguments or objections; we are told to accept it, period." Gutiérrez expressed his astonishment and powerlessness in the face of a decision that "shows us a new example of the authoritarianism with which our government manages all organizations, they give orders and we obey."
Reduced tax rate
The Councilor of Finance has announced that they will request the Spanish government to reduce the property tax (IBI) rate to offset the imposition of this fee, thereby reducing the additional cost incurred by residents. "It was approved by the Local Government Board yesterday, and now it will go to the Finance Committee and to the Plenary. From here, residents will have a 30-day period to submit any claims they deem appropriate," informed Gutiérrez. He added, "We will try by all means to convince the government to lower the tax rate, we will submit the necessary requests, within our means, to adjust the IBI rate so that residents do not have to pay more taxes," emphasized the Councilor of Finance.
The fee will affect the provision of waste services in residential buildings or similar properties and in spaces designated for economic activities (business premises). According to studies conducted by municipal technicians, residents of Vélez-Málaga will have to pay an annual amount, included in this fee, ranging between 101.86 and 135.54 euros. This amount will be determined based on three clearly differentiated factors: the built area of the property, its cadastral value, and environmental efficiency, distributed at 45%, 45%, and 10%, respectively. There is a fixed part of 62.66 euros, and another part defined based on the three mentioned variables. There are a total of 48,494 registered houses in the municipal area. Regarding properties and premises with economic activity, Manuel Gutiérrez revealed the existence of 10,216 active spaces, which will have to pay a fixed cost of 112.30 euros, plus an additional part based on the business category and registered area. The Finance Councilor quantified a total revenue in the municipality derived from this new tax of 7,185,000 euros, divided into residential properties (72.59%) and premises with economic activity (27.41%).
The Councilor of Finance reiterated that "it is not to our liking to implement this new measure, our goal since our arrival has been to reduce the tax burden on our residents." The new tax in question is "an imposition by the government for the collection and treatment of the waste we deposit in the container every day, something that has been demanded from Europe but has not been applied in other countries."
Two normative axes
The normative framework under which it is justified corresponds to two differential axes. The first of them is Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Union, which promotes the circular economy and the waste hierarchy that member states must follow, that is, the adoption of effective measures in waste management, encouraging their separation at the source and penalizing disposal.
The mentioned fee, for which the City Council is working on compliance with the regulations, requires its specific, differentiated, and non-deficit application before April 2025. In this regard, procedures and other debates about the future application are yet to be determined. As stated in State Law 7/2022, the fundamental objective is to guarantee the economic and environmental sustainability of waste collection services, while promoting the separation of waste for recycling and valorization.
The collection of this future waste fee has been conceived by the municipal Finance representative as "a new way for the state government to suffocate the population with taxes," as Manuel Gutiérrez put it, emphasizing "the helplessness that all local administrations face." The Tax Collection Board of the Provincial Council of Málaga will be responsible for enforcing a fee "imposed, yes or yes, by the government."
Implementation deadline
Regarding the implementation schedule of the fee for the collection, transportation, and treatment of urban solid waste, the deadline for implementation, according to Law 7/2022, is April 10, 2025. Before that date, the City Council must approve and publish the new fiscal regulations that regulate this new fee according to waste treatment. The Local Government Board approved the implementation of it yesterday morning, "as we have no other way out due to the imposition of the state government," however, the Councilor of Finance has emphasized that "we will ask our leaders to reconsider this decision, which represents a new blow to the already burdened economy of all our citizens." Gutiérrez indicated that, since the City Council did not approve the fee in December 2024, "our residents will be exempt from payment in the current fiscal year," postponing it in any case to the year 2026.
The approval will follow the necessary administrative procedure and will be taken to the Finance Committee, a preliminary step before the Plenary, where all members of the Municipal Corporation will decide their stance on a fee that has generated controversy and numerous disagreements in the various local organizations.