No 1074 Monday 5th - Sunday 11th May 2025
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The Costa Blanca’s oldest ‘FREE’ English language newspaper - WITH THE LARGEST LOCAL CIRCULATION
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uan Ignacio Lopez-Bas Valero, a practicing lawyer and former councillor of Orihuela, as well as a former Ciudadanos Member of Parliament, has sparked a public debate through an opinion article that was published in Diario de la Vega. In it, he urges Orihuela residents to formally challenge the recent, sharply increased urban waste collection tax (RSU), describing the situation as unjust and legally questionable. The tax, managed by SUMA, has risen dramatically - by between 250% and 340%, depending on the area prompting concern and discontent among the local population. Lopez Bas argues that the municipal government is failing to comply with Spanish law.
TA X R E V O LT I N O R I H U E L A A S FORMER DEPUTY URGES PUBLIC T O D E F Y ‘ I L L E G A L’ I N C R E A S E
Since Orihuela is legally classified as a "municipality of a large population" it is required by law to establish a specialised administrative body to handle economic-administrative appeals, particularly for reviewing tax settlements issued by the town council. However, Orihuela has not created this mandated body, depriving citizens of a lawful administrative channel to contest tax decisions before resorting to the courts. Due to this deficiency, Lopez Bas claims that tax assessments made without providing this administrative recourse are legally invalid. He supports his position by citing court rulings from cities like Alicante, Madrid, and Santander, where judges have annulled similar tax settlements on the basis that the absence of such municipal bodies violates taxpayers' constitutional right to effective judicial protection. Encouraging civic action, Lopez Bas states that every taxpayer has the right - and even the duty - to challenge administrative actions when authorities knowingly disregard legal procedures.
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