In Santa Cruz, the garbage export tax will increase: the mayor blames the government, the socialists blame the city council.

In the city of Santa Cruz, city council members voted to temporarily increase the garbage disposal tax. From January 1, 2026, it will increase by 50%. This means that instead of approximately 70 euros, residents will have to pay from 105 to 150 euros. The amount will depend on the value of their housing, the number of people living there, and whether they sort their garbage into special "brown" containers.

Although the financial advisor, José Alberto Díaz Estebanes, assured that this tax increase was "imposed" on all cities in Spain by the government of Pedro Sánchez, the socialists (PSOE) unexpectedly voted against it. The Vox party did the same, even though their party at the national level initiated this decision.

PSOE representative Patricia Hernández explained that they are against it because the proposed changes "do not encourage garbage sorting as required by law, do not improve anything for people, and also punish those who do not sort waste." She also added that the promised 10% discounts for those who use "brown" containers are not yet working in some areas of the city.

Hernández emphasized that "the city council has miscalculated everything, and there is no fairness in the distribution of costs." In her opinion, "it is illogical that a family of three will pay about 111 euros, while a restaurant with 50 tables will pay only 147 euros." The PSOE believes that "part of the costs should be covered by packaging manufacturers, not residents."

Vox representative Alejandro Gómez also criticized the tax increase, calling it "unfair, ideological, and harmful to residents, entrepreneurs, and shops." He believes that it is a "product of climate fanaticism that does not help the environment, but only punishes people."

The mayor of the city, José Manuel Bermúdez, stated that "the city council is strongly against the new tax imposed by the Sánchez government, as it increases the financial burden on residents. It is unfair to demand greater efforts from families at a time when many are already struggling to survive. I will do everything possible to make everyone aware that the PSOE is to blame for this increase, even if I have to personally tell every resident about it."

Bermúdez added that "the government, in order to meet European requirements, chose the easiest path and decided, despite the protests of 8,000 cities across the country, that it is the people who should pay more. But it is the cities that must be responsible for poorly thought-out rules that create inequality and discontent."

Financial advisor José Alberto Díaz Estebanes criticized the PSOE for voting against a measure that was "imposed by their own party in the Spanish government." He believes that "the socialists' refusal is absurd, because we have to implement it because the PSOE itself is forcing us to. But their representative in the city council, Patricia Hernández, is making up ridiculous excuses to reject it."

The advisor on public services, Carlos Tarife, called it "shameful that here the PSOE is voting against a measure imposed by their own party at the state level. The state should have given the cities time to adapt and provided resources so that it would have less impact on people."

At the city council meeting, changes to the rules regarding property tax (IBI) and the management, verification, and collection of taxes were also approved. In addition, it was decided to merge IMAS (Institute of Social Affairs) with the city council so that money would go directly to those who need it. The PSOE opposed this decision, accusing the advisor on this issue, Sharin González, of "destroying the service." The mayor called it "untrue" that the merger of IMAS was a demand of the employees, since "it was the advisor who initiated this process."