Collboni agrees with the Comuns on an extra increase in property tax for luxury hotels
The mayor thus saves the tax ordinances and opens the door to trying to approve the budgets.
BarcelonaThe mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, will approve the 2026 tax ordinances. The municipal government reached an agreement this Friday with Barcelona en Comú, which, added to the agreement already signed with ERC, will allow it to secure final approval of the city's taxes and fees for next year. To this end, the PSC-led government has agreed with Comuns on several measures, including an additional increase in the IBI (property tax) for luxury hotels. Tourism taxation, therefore, is once again key to the approval of ordinances that the fourth deputy mayor, Jordi Valls, has emphasized do not increase the burden on families or small and medium-sized businesses. Last year, in fact, the IBI increase for luxury hotels was one of the agreements reached between the PSC and Barcelona en Comú to secure the passage of that year's ordinances. If they previously agreed to raise the tax from 1% to 1.17%, they have now agreed to use up the maximum amount allowed by law for the City Council, which will charge these establishments a property tax (IBI) of 1.3% starting in 2027. The law allows city councils like Barcelona to apply a differentiated property tax rate—capped at 1.3%—to the 10% of properties with the highest value in the city. This category includes 233 properties, 203 of which are luxury hotels. A year ago, Valls already emphasized that the real estate assets of hotels had greatly increased in value and that 63% of the affected properties were not owned by hotel chains, but by investment funds or holding companies that outsource their management. Despite Valls's statements, this agreement sparked considerable criticism within the sector. In a statement, the Hotel Guild railed against the "fiscal strangulation" they said the sector is suffering, and warned that it is not willing "to continue being a constant source of funding for the administrations." Now the City Council is going a step further and will approve tax ordinances that not only foresee an increase in property tax (IBI) for luxury hotels, but will also increase the tourist tax surcharge by one euro once it is approved by the Catalan Parliament.
Bakery chains in the spotlight
The agreement between the PSC and Comuns includes other points, such as measures to try to limit the proliferation of commercial establishments of "low value to the area," such as 24-hour supermarkets, beauty salons, and mobile phone accessory stores. In this regard, the municipal government has committed to defining three new land-use plans for the districts of Ciutat Vella, Eixample, and Sant Martí during the first half of 2026, which will restrict the opening of new establishments of this type. Furthermore, both groups have also focused on the proliferation of franchises in neighborhoods, such as the bakeries and tasting rooms that are multiplying throughout Barcelona. In this respect, the municipal government promises to study, from a legal standpoint, the possibility of limiting the proliferation of these types of establishments. Finally, the agreement also includes a promise to accelerate the urban regeneration plan for the Besòs and Maresme districts as much as possible, both with new municipal approaches and by making the most of Next Generation EU funds and securing the collaboration of the Catalan government. In a joint press conference, Jordi Valls and Janet Sanz celebrated the agreement. "It's important that the left-wing forces reach agreements. Sometimes it's easy and sometimes it's not, but today we're taking a step forward," said the deputy mayor. Sanz, for her part, thanked the Collboni administration for its willingness to reach an agreement. "In Barcelona, the left is the majority, and when there is political will, especially from those in power, we can reach agreements that improve people's lives," she said.
The agreement announced this Friday adds to other commitments already reached by the PSC and Comuns regarding the ordinances, such as demanding that the State modify the local finance law to establish a progressive property tax (IBI) and tax those with more apartments more heavily, or theopen a mediation process with the residents of Vallcarca pending eviction. It remains to be seen whether this harmony will also be reflected in the budgets or if, as a year ago, the understanding will only be reflected in the tax ordinances.
