MALLORCA TODAY - Puerto Pollensa restaurants will pay lower taxes

Following the ruling of the Balearics High Court last month that a restaurant on the pedestrianised frontline in Puerto Pollensa should not be paying taxes to both the Costas Authority and Pollensa town hall for occupation of public land (the street terrace in other words), the town hall will formally adopt this decision next week in eliminating this duplication of taxation. The decision will apply to the Paseos Anglada Camarasa and Voramar (aka the pinewalk). In a further development, the tax levied by the town hall for businesses that fall under its responsibility alone will be reduced by between 5% and 10%.

See more: Diario de Mallorca

MALLORCA TODAY - High court rules against double taxation for Puerto Pollensa terraces

The Balearics High Court has upheld a previous legal ruling and dismissed an appeal by Pollensa town hall in respect of a challenge raised by a restaurant owner on the Paseo Anglada Camarasa in Puerto Pollensa who objected to paying a tax to the town hall for occupying public space (for a terrace) when a tax had already been paid to the Costas Authority. 

Comment: This is an important decision by the court as it tackles the absurd situation that exists not only in Pollensa of businesses paying more than once for the same public space. It also highlights the confusion over which authority has dominion over what. There is a third body which comes into this equation, namely the Balearics Ports Authority, which, as an example, collects revenue from businesses on Alcúdia's Paseo Marítimo. A definitive ruling is needed to establish that there is one body and one alone that has the right to apply a tax, and the most sensible one would be the town halls, a possible problem with this being, as shown in Puerto Pollensa, that when it comes to maintenance of the frontlines, it is the Costas which have to act, meaning it would want tax revenue. Confused, it most definitely is.

See more: Diario de Mallorca

MALLORCA TODAY - Puerto Alcúdia restaurant owners face steeper terrace tax

The value of public land on the Paseo Marítimo in Puerto Alcúdia has increased by over 300%, this revision of its value having been undertaken by the ports authority (it has dominion over the land, not the town hall). This means that the tax for terraces on this public land will jump to an average of up to 12 euros per square metre. There has not been a revision of the value for over 20 years, and restaurant owners had been warned of an increase.

See more: Ultima Hora