Residents in La Viñuela in the Axarquía are been asked to pay a ‘voluntary tax’ to declare their property legal

Residents in La Viñuela in the Axarquía are been asked to pay a ‘voluntary tax’ to declare their property legal
A letter has been sent to residents by the local socialist-controlled town hall, which asks them for the payment of what is called a ‘voluntary tax’ so that their illegally-built property can be declared legal. The amount being requested is between 6,000 € and 12,000 €.

Most of the people affected are British and German, and they have said that they will create a protest group to defend their rights and to denounce what they describe as this odd system of paying tax. Some 300 people attended a protest meeting at the El Camping restaurant next to the reservoir last week to set up the protest group.

Francisco González, the PP spokesman in the Town Hall,said that around 50 British residents had received the letters over recent days, and that some of them had paid already, in cash or by cheque. He said that fear had led many to hand over their savings. González said the amount requested was supposed to be inline with the size of the property concerned, but it seemed to have been set more arbitrarily according to the wealth of the family concerned.

The letters are dated from the time the illegal building started, and show the Town Hall official stamp, but are not signed by any individual, nor do they have a return address.
La Opinion de Málaga reports that such letters would lack any judicial value in the legalisation of the properties.

Regards