The hostelry sector of Motril are up in arms over how expensive the terrace tax is, especially when compared to neighbouring towns.

According to the Motril bylaws you can pay up to 115 euros per sq/m if you’re a bar or restaurant owner and you want to put tables outside; i.e., on a terrace.

That figure is six times higher than Salobreña, for example, where you only have to pay 18.66 euros per sq/m. In Almuñécar, a traditionally expensive place compared with its seaside neighbours, you pay on average 45.49 euros per sq/m on the more ‘up market’ streets.

Bearing in mind the above information, you can understand why bar and restaurante owners in Motril are mightily miffed!

Yes, in Motril they are paying 345 euros a year per table and only if you pay the lump sum up front you can get a discount, getting a ‘bargain’ at 243 euros per table per year.

These prices were inherited from the previous administration and when the governing party tried to pass a motion to provide a 25% discount, the opposition parties blocked it, alleging that they were opposing the whole package and terrace taxes were only a part of it.

The Chairperson of the Unión de Hosteleros Asociados, Reto De Vita, was very surprised by the voting decision made by the opposition PP and IU, as the union would back the tax reduction.

“What we are asking for is no frivolous whim. A businessman in Salobreña pays 600 euros for ten years yet here we pay 3,000 euros for those same tables,” the chairperson explained.

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