Tuineje PP: “The Town Council is unable to collect its own taxes, and residents will end up paying the price”

A Town Council that acknowledges it will probably be unable to collect its own taxes this year, has nearly five million euros in outstanding payments to suppliers and has yet to approve its 2026 budget. This is the situation denounced by the Partido Popular (PP) in Tuineje after, according to the party, the mayor himself admitted at the latest full council meeting that municipal tax collection would be unlikely to take place during the current financial year.

PP spokesperson Esther Hernández describes the situation as “scandalous and unacceptable” and holds the local government responsible for allowing an essential service to reach this point.

“We are facing an entirely exceptional situation. A Town Council that is unable to collect its own taxes cannot expect residents to believe it is being run normally. What we are seeing is the result of a lack of foresight, the consequences of which could ultimately be paid by all residents,” she said.

The PP traces the problem back to the expiry of the tax collection contract, which left the council without a properly functioning service about a year ago. Since then, the party says, the local government has been unable to restore normal operations.

Although the Town Council has joined the Consorcio de Tributos de Tenerife, the PP warns that this will not provide an immediate solution. In addition, collection of certain charges, such as building permit fees, will now be handled directly by the Town Council. The party says the council currently lacks the technical and human resources needed to take on this task reliably.

“They allowed the contract to expire, have spent about a year failing to resolve the problem and are now admitting at a full council meeting that they probably won’t be able to collect taxes during 2026 either. What planning has there been to bring us to this point? How can a government allow the Town Council to lose the ability to carry out such a basic function?” Hernández asked.

Residents could have to pay two years’ worth of taxes

The PP is particularly concerned about the impact this situation could have on household finances. If taxes and charges due in 2026 are not collected during the current year and collection is pushed back to 2027, taxpayers could receive bills covering two years at once, the party warns.

PP councillor Paco Artiles said it was unacceptable that the local government’s management failures could affect family finances in this way.

“Residents should not have to pay for the Town Council’s inability to do its job. Families plan their spending around the usual payment deadlines, and now they could be faced with two years’ worth of taxes at once because the government has failed to keep the collection service running,” he warned.

For the PP, the problem is not simply that the Town Council will lose income this year; the delay could also leave residents facing an additional financial burden next year.

“People meet their obligations. What is unacceptable is that the lack of foresight on the part of those in government ends up making their lives harder and forcing them to deal with accumulated payments for a situation they are not responsible for,” the PP said.

Five million euros in unpaid bills, with companies claiming late-payment interest

The situation is even more concerning, the PP says, when the Town Council’s finances are considered as a whole. Alongside the lack of a properly functioning tax collection service, nearly five million euros are owed to suppliers and the 2026 budget has yet to be approved.

The party also warns that numerous companies are claiming late-payment interest from the Town Council because of delays in settling their invoices. The total amount being claimed is unknown, and the PP cautions that the eventual bill for the council could therefore rise.

“We already have around five million euros outstanding to suppliers. Now companies are claiming late-payment interest, and we don’t even know how much that additional bill could come to. Every day this goes unresolved could make it more expensive for the Town Council and, therefore, for all the residents of Tuineje,” Esther Hernández said.

The PP spokesperson believes the accumulation of these problems reflects a lack of planning that is putting the Town Council’s financial operations at risk.

“Failing to collect taxes, failing to pay suppliers and having no budget is no way to govern. It is scandalous management that is putting the Town Council in an increasingly difficult position, and we still do not know the full extent of the consequences,” she said.

The PP is calling on the local government to accept responsibility, restore normal tax collection services and take the necessary steps to prevent administrative delays from leaving families with accumulated bills and generating further costs in late-payment interest.

“Tuineje deserves much more than a Town Council unable to collect its taxes while building up debts and generating new costs by paying late. Residents meet their obligations and have the right to expect those in government to meet theirs too. The cost of this mismanagement must not continue to fall on the public,” Esther Hernández concluded.