Figueres freezes 2027 waste tax, keeps rises below CPI

Figueres freezes 2027 waste tax, keeps rises below CPI

Figueres will not raise its waste collection tax in 2027. Other municipal taxes and fees will rise, but by less than inflation. The city council presented its draft tax bylaws for next year with the stated aim of easing the burden on households.

Mayor Jordi Masquef and finance councillor Ramon Pastoret presented the proposal in the council's plenary hall. The ordinances (the local bylaws that set municipal taxes, fees and public prices each year) were due to go before the ordinary council meeting on Thursday afternoon.

The headline figures are simple. Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE) put the consumer price index (CPI) at 4.9% in September. Figueres will raise its fees by 3%. Property tax, known as IBI, will go up by 2%, almost three points below inflation.

Waste tax held at 0%

The waste tax freeze follows several years of increases. Those rises were needed to bring the tax into line with European Union rules, which require the fee to reflect the real cost of the service. The rules took effect in April 2025. Since then, town councils have had to cover the full cost of waste collection.

For 2027, the municipal government has decided not to add any further increase. The freeze also comes as Figueres rolls out its new waste collection and street cleaning contract. The council says the contract will bring a significant step up in the service the city receives. That rollout includes the replacement of more than 1,000 bins across Figueres. The new service will not lead to a higher waste tax.

Recycling centre discount stays

Residents who use the municipal recycling centre, the deixalleria, will again be able to cut their waste bill. The discount works on a sliding scale:

  • More than 10 visits a year: 50% off the waste tax
  • Between 6 and 10 visits: 25% off
  • Up to 5 visits: 15% off

The council wants to encourage more people to use the facility while giving them a way to pay less. More than 400 residents benefited from the scheme last year.

What else is frozen

Parking charges will not change. This covers the regulated blue, green and orange zones in the city. The council has recently been expanding this network, including a new green zone car park in Poble Nou.

Several other charges are also frozen. These include:

  • ICIO, the tax on construction, installations and building works
  • IVTM, the annual road tax on motor vehicles
  • The first tier of the water tariff, covering the social tariff and large and single-parent families

The council said this list was not complete and that other charges would also stay the same.

What goes up

The 3% update applies to a range of fees. Water prices in the higher tiers, which affect large consumers, will rise. So will the single fare and the T-10 multi-trip ticket on the city's urban buses. The price of the social bus card and the pass for retired people will not change.

The council's case

Masquef said the 2027 bylaws start from "a very clear decision by the municipal government: not to pass the full increase in the cost of living on to the people of Figueres."

He said the aim was to balance two needs. One is to guarantee the income required for public services and the investments the city needs. The other is to contain the tax burden on residents "in a difficult global context for family economies."

Pastoret pointed to the September inflation figure. "Despite year-on-year inflation of 4.9% in the September CPI, we have decided not to apply this increase in full," he said. He added that families, self-employed workers and businesses were also absorbing a general rise in costs. "That is why the tax bylaws will apply updates clearly below the CPI," he said.

Why It Matters

For anyone who owns property or runs a business in Figueres, the message is that bills will still rise in 2027, but more slowly than prices in general. The waste tax freeze is the most visible relief. It stands out because the EU cost-recovery rules have pushed waste fees up in many towns since 2025.

The decision fits a wider pattern in the Alt Empordà. Neighbouring Roses has also frozen its taxes for 2027. This suggests councils are wary of high inflation ahead of next year's local elections. Readers in Empuriabrava and Castelló d'Empúries may want to compare their own town's bylaws when they are published.

It is worth watching whether the waste freeze can hold once the new contract is fully running. If the real cost of the service rises, EU rules would leave little room to keep the fee flat in later years. The recycling centre discount remains the clearest way for households to lower the bill themselves.