The municipal government of Ada Colau has accepted the PSC proposal that the Property Taxes (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles - IBI) not be frozen completely next year.

The preliminary agreement with the PSC means the IBI rate will stay the same for homeowners whose property has a cadastral value no higher than 100,000 euros (nearly 80% of all homes in Barcelona).

For homes with a cadastral value between 100,000 and 300,000 euros (nearly 20% of the total), the administration has agreed on an average tax hike of 3.9%. Those valued at more than 300,000 euros (2% of all homes) will pay 5% more on average than in 2015.

This IBI tax hike on the properties with the highest value aims to collect 8.4 million euros more than under the government’s initial plan. This additional revenue, as Collboni explained, will go to grants (subventions and fiscal deductions) for new freelance workers and entrepreneurs, and to cultural industries that reinvest the majority of their profit in the city.

PHOTOGRAPHS La Vanguardia