Camara — The tax authorities aren't joking around and have already warned the municipalities | Minerva Studio, Catanfa, Agencia Tributaria

Hacienda's Stern Warning to Spaniards: Huge Fine for Those Who Do This in April

This spring a new municipal tax will come into effect and the city councils must apply it without fail.

17/02/2025 17:58:00h

Miguel Cuartas Ortego

Pay close attention because starting April 10, all municipalities in Spain must apply a new fee for waste management. It's known as the "garbage tax."

This measure by Hacienda, established by Law 7/2022 on waste and contaminated soils for a circular economy, aims to ensure that those who generate waste contribute to the actual cost of its management. Municipalities are required to establish a specific, differentiated, and non-deficit fee. One that covers the total cost of waste collection, transportation, and treatment.

This Is What Municipalities Must Do on April 10: Hacienda Won't Forgive Any

This fee must reflect the principle of "the polluter pays." Overall, it encourages citizens to reduce and properly separate their waste responsibly and civically.

A waste collection worker stands on the back of a garbage truck on a street, with several garbage containers in the foreground.

Pay attention to the tax that Spanish municipalities must apply | Europa Press

The implementation of this fee responds to a European directive that seeks for waste generators to assume the cost of its management. Additionally, Law 7/2022 establishes that the fee can't be deficit, meaning it must fully cover the service expenses.

What Will Happen If They Don't Comply with the Law: Severe Penalties

Hacienda has warned that municipalities that do not implement this fee within the established timeframe face penalties. These can include heavy financial fines and the loss of access to European funds intended for municipal projects. The imposition of this fee has caused mixed reactions among municipalities.

Some, especially from parties like PP and Vox, have expressed their opposition, arguing that it infringes on local autonomy and that citizens will bear the additional cost. For example, the president of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), María José García-Pelayo, has called the fee "nonsense" and pointed out that "it infringes on local autonomy."

Be very careful with the tax authorities because they are going to control it strictly. | Europa Press, Billion Photos, en.e-noticies.cat

Meanwhile, other municipalities have already begun to apply the fee, adjusting their fiscal ordinances to comply with the regulations. In Madrid, a 0.02% reduction in the IBI has been approved to offset part of the cost of the new waste fee.

The new garbage tax is a mandatory measure that seeks for citizens to contribute to the actual cost of waste management. The measure has caused various reactions, reflecting the complexity of balancing environmental sustainability with citizens' economic capacity.

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