The spokesperson for Junts per Tortosa, Meritxell Roigé, highlighted that, thanks to the allegations presented by her group, an initial requirement that denied aid to individuals not up to date with their tax obligations has been eliminated. This modification is crucial, as, according to Roigé, the original requirement directly harmed the most vulnerable families in the city.
“"It is incoherent to establish social emergency aid for families who lack the resources to pay taxes, but then deny them aid if they haven't been able to pay their taxes. Without our modification to the aid bases, many vulnerable families for whom this aid is intended would not have been able to apply for it."
Despite this improvement, Roigé reiterated her group's criticism of the tax increase approved by the governing team, calling it “historic and excessive.” She insisted on the need to reverse the IBI increase, which would mean an annual saving of between 95 and 130 euros for the citizens of Tortosa.
The spokesperson also regretted that the municipal government rejected other proposals from Junts per Tortosa, such as extending the residency requirement in the municipality from 2 to 5 years to access aid, or increasing the cadastral value of housing from 25,000 to 30,000 euros. According to Roigé, the current threshold of 25,000 euros only benefits 11% of homes in Tortosa, a figure she considers insufficient to mitigate the impact of the IBI increase.
Furthermore, Junts per Tortosa has managed to correct a “serious error” that limited aid to residents with other properties in Tortosa (such as a parking space or storage room), but not to those with properties in other municipalities. They have also advocated for reducing the documentation required, as the City Council already possesses much of the necessary information.
