Not only is the tax burden exerted by the Generalitat one of the highest in Spain, but also, at the local level, five of the ten municipalities in the country where taxes are highest are located in Catalonia. Reus and Girona lead the ranking of cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants with the highest local taxes. These are data from a report prepared by the Institute of Economic Studies (IEE), the think tank of the CEOE employers. The two Catalan cities plus the Andalusian Sanlúcar de Barrameda have taxes more than 40% higher than the Spanish average.
The ranking of municipalities with the highest tax pressure is completed by Lleida, Tarragona, Gandía, La Línea de la Concepción, Elda, Alcoi and Granollers. The report analyzes municipal taxation since the previous elections in 2019. The report notes that at the municipal level the municipalities of Catalonia, Cantabria and the Balearic Islands have the highest national regulatory tax pressure. In these regions, the local tax burden is "8% above the national average."
To build the ranking, the data from different tax figures that are the responsibility of the municipalities, such as the IBI (real estate tax) or the circulation tax, are used. In the IBI -which is paid by all property owners and which contributes almost 70% of the total collection of the city councils-, in Reus it is 71.7% higher than the Spanish average, while in Girona it is a 61.5%. In the particular ranking of this tribute, a sixth Catalan municipality sneaks in among those with the highest IBI: Manresa.
The report offers data on the municipalities with the best fiscal competitiveness after analyzing various variables such as the types of taxation. In this case, the city with the most fiscal competitiveness is Boadilla del Monte (in Madrid) with a fiscal pressure 34.1% lower than the Spanish average. Majadahonda and Arrecife complete the podium. The rest are Las Rozas de Madrid, Mijas, Sagunto, Dos Hermanas, Alcobendas, Ourense and Getafe.
In the circulation tax called tax on mechanical traction vehicles (IVTM), which is the second source of financing in local tax matters with 11%, a total of 45 municipalities applied the maximum rate while six municipalities (Pinto, San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Melilla, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Boadilla del Monte and Majadahonda) applied the lowest quotas allowed by law.
The IEE report recalls that local administrations collect around 25,000 million euros annually. These revenues account for 43% of the budgets of local entities.
On the other hand, the work analyzes fiscal competitiveness by autonomous communities. Those with higher than average taxation are Catalonia (23.8% more), Comunidad Valenciana (16.3%) and Aragón (15.3%). On the other hand, those with the lowest tax burden are Madrid (-23.8%) and the foral territories of the Basque Country.
