The Tax Office (Hacienda) is  withholding  400,000 euros from the Almuñécar Town Hall, for not having its accounting up to date. But Almuñécar is not alone in this because a total of 17 other municipalities have shared the same fate for the same reason.

The other towns are: Alamedilla, Búsquistar, Chauchina, Galera, Gor, Los Guájares, Güevéjar, Huénejar, Itrabo Láchar, Murtas, Pampaneira, Pórtugos, Sorvilán, La Taha and Valle del Zalabí.

Townships receive fund transfers from Central Government every month, but the new Ley de Economía Sostenible stipulates that the Tax Office must retain the funds if a town hall hasn’t balanced its accounts. The money isn’t lost, however, merely retained until the town halls have done their homework.

In the case of Almuñécar, these 400,000 euros will be sorely missed in the meantime, as the town is running a 30-million deficit.

The Trinidad Herrera administration is racing to close accounting, which was one of the ‘pressies’ left by the outgoing administration. In the last few months, the Town Hall has been able to close the 2009 figures but is still struggling to close the 2010 ones.

Furthermore, whilst Almuñécar is in this limbo, it can’t have access to credit from the ICO scheme (Instituto de Crédito Oficial). Trinidad Herrera is hoping to use an official loan from the ICO to pay off the small creditors; i.e., outstanding debts owed by the Council to local small businesses.

It was when the Council was closing the 2008 accounts that they discovered the 30m debt, which no doubt will have increased during the course of 2009 and 2010, but there will be no way of knowing how they stand until the 2010 accounts are sewn up.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)