Hire cars parked up at Can Pastilla, Majorca

Hire cars parked up at Can Pastilla, Majorca. Archive photo. | S.B.

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma28/11/2019 18:08
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The government in Madrid is to be asked to amend legislation so that hire cars in the Balearics are subject to road taxes set by local municipalities. Parliament's finance committee agreed to this at its Tuesday meeting; Vox was the only party which didn't agree.

Maria Antònia Truyols of PSOE said that the aim is to put an end to car-hire firms exploiting "tax haven" municipalities, most of them in the Madrid region. Road tax can be as low as seven euros, depending on model, and this represents "unfair competition" as hire cars are registered for tax purposes with these town halls but operate in the Balearics. The number of cars registered with these municipalities is "abnormal" when compared with the number of residents.

Truyols added that there is still concern about the environmental impact of the number of hire cars which are brought to the Balearics for the main tourism season. Road tax, she noted, is a municipal responsibility; the regional government has no powers to regulate the tax.