The capital's council will pay an annual interest of 4.0625% for the refund of the waste tax, following the TSJC ruling. Taxpayers will receive €0.017 daily for regular homes and €0.012 for vacant properties.
The City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria will not only have to refund the €149.33 charged for the waste tax on regular homes, but it will also have to pay late interest to taxpayers. This is outlined in the models for the appeal for reinstatement that the council has made available to residents to claim the refund, following the annulment of the tax by the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC).
The applicable late interest is 4.0625% annually, according to the rate set for 2026 by the extension of the state budget. This translates to a daily increase of €0.017 for those who paid for a regular home and €0.012 for owners of vacant properties, who paid €108.45.
Thus, for each month of delay in the refund, the taxpayer will accumulate about €0.51 in the first case and €0.36 in the second. If the refund were to be delayed a full year, the interest would amount to €6.07 for a regular home, bringing the total refund to €155.4. For a vacant property, the amount would rise to €112.89.
A total of 35,002 taxpayers paid the waste tax and must now request a refund, except for those who have already missed the one-month deadline from the notification or payment, who will receive the refund automatically. The council has provided two models for the appeal: one for those who received an official notification and another for those who self-notified by downloading the settlement.
In the first model, the annulment of the settlement and the recognition of the right to a refund with late interest from the date of payment to the payment order is explicitly requested. In the second, the refund of the principal plus legal interest is requested, without as much detail.
Taxpayers who received formal notification have one month to submit the appeal, counted from the day after receipt. Those who downloaded the settlement have the deadline starting from the day after payment. For those who have already exceeded that month, the council will proceed ex officio with the automatic refund.
The TSJC ruling that annulled the waste tax obliges the council to refund what was collected, but also to assume late interest as a penalty for the undue collection, as established by the General Tax Law. This obligation aims to compensate the taxpayer for the loss of purchasing power of the money during the time the administration retained it without legal title.
Residents of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria can download the appeal forms from the electronic headquarters of the City Council or collect them in person at the citizen service offices. It is recommended to submit them as soon as possible to minimise delays and maximise the amount to be recovered.
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