Servimedia Madrid
Madrid
Updated Tuesday, April 2, 2024-12:22
Four towns in the
Community of Madrid
with a population of between 74 and 2,554 inhabitants (Las Rozas de Puerto Real, Patones, Venturada and La Hiruela) are in the 'top ten' of towns in Spain with the most registered vehicles per inhabitant due to their beneficial tax treatment to pay the
Mechanical Traction Vehicle Tax (ITVM)
.
This is clear from a study carried out by
Associated European Motorists (AEA)
and released this Tuesday. The document indicates that the IVTM, created in Spain 36 years ago to replace the vehicle circulation tax - also known as 'el numerito' -, generates annual income of nearly 4,000 million euros to local treasuries.
This tax is paid based on the fiscal power of the vehicle (in the case of cars), the cylinder capacity (motorcycles), the weight (trucks) and the number of seats (buses), in accordance with a minimum rate established for all of Spain. except for
the Basque Country
and
Navarra
.
However, the law allows city councils to increase these fees at their discretion, allowing them to charge up to double the minimum rate, a situation that occurs in eight of the 52 provincial capitals and autonomous cities.
It also authorizes the application of discounts of up to 75% depending on the fuel and the characteristics of the engines, and exonerates payment of the tax in the case of historic vehicles and vehicles over 25 years old.
This, according to AEA, distorts the purpose of the tax system and allows the creation of "true 'tax havens'" in the payment of a tax to which
37.8 million
taxpayers are obliged.
Rozas de Puerto Real is the largest 'tax haven' for paying road tax in Spain because last year it concentrated 37.13 registered vehicles per inhabitant, ahead of Patones (20.80) and the Barcelona town of Aguilar de Segarra (17,31).
Venturada occupies fourth place in that ranking (14.26 registered vehicles per resident), ahead of the Castellón municipality of Sarratella (13.45), the Majorcan town of Escorca (10.85), the Zaragoza town of Retascón (10. 77) and La Hiruela (9.89). The Barcelona town of Rajadell (7.36) and Tejeda (6.53) complete the top ten.
COMPANY CARS
This fact has motivated numerous rental and renting companies to concentrate the registration of their fleets in small municipalities where they have opened branches due to their favorable tax treatment. "In exchange, each year they win the 'little number' lottery for the income they receive from a tax on vehicles that do not even circulate, nor will they ever circulate, in that population," according to AEA.
This association pointed out that the origin of this phenomenon arose from the elimination of the provincial code from Spanish license plates, in September 2000, which allowed the owners of large fleets of vehicles used for car rental and renting to concentrate the registration of their vehicles in municipalities with low taxation.
Ten Spanish municipalities with a population of approximately between 600 and 15,000 inhabitants
(Moralzarzal, Venturada, Robledo de Chavela, Las Rozas de Puerto Real, Navacerrada, Collado Mediano, Brunete, Patones and Colmenar de Arroyo, in the Community of Madrid, and Tejeda, in Gran Canaria)
bring together 40% of company cars registered throughout Spain due to their privileged tax treatment. That is, 208,125 passenger cars out of a national total of 528,762 units.
CAPITAL
As for the provincial capitals, a motorist from San Sebastian pays 49% more for the municipal tax on his car than one from
Madrid
, or 158% more than one domiciled in
Tenerife
, but if compared with a motorist registered in one of Of the 27 'tax havens' detected by AEA, the differences can reach up to 900%.
For example, the owner of a medium-type vehicle (11.99 fiscal horsepower) pays 34.08 euros at the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council; 59.00 in Madrid; 68.16 in Barcelona, and 87.93 in San Sebastián.
According to the AEA report, differences in rates not only occur between the provincial capitals of autonomous communities, but also between town councils in the same province.
For example, the fee charged by the mountain municipality of Rozas de Puerto Real or Patones, in the Community of Madrid, is seven times cheaper than that charged in Madrid. In
Catalonia
, the amount paid by Rajadell or Aguilar de Segarra turns out to be eight times lower than that in Barcelona.