TIME FOR THE SUMABILLS

The second voluntary period to pay your municipal taxes has now begun.

You should now be receiving you bills for the Impuesto sobre bienes inmuebles (IBI), and Impuesto de actividades econÛmicas (IAE), as well as other municipal taxes, sometimes commonly referred to as SUMAbills, as SUMAis the agency employed by many of the town halls in this area to collect the taxes on their behalf.

If you have opted for paperless bills, delivered in digital form, they will also now be available through your usual portal.

If you have a direct debit set up, you donít need to do anything else, as the money will be collected automatically, but if you donít, you now have until October 10 before the voluntary payment period ends. After this date, you can still pay, but a surcharge will be added.

If you are unable to pay, you should contact the numbers 89, 91 and 93, will take place in September, at a time of the season with fewer tourists in the area. According to the mayor, the administration is contracting out the work and then it will charge those owners who should have carried it out themselves.

The demolition will also be done by the administration, but like Monday's operation, the old owners will be charged.

The Playa de Babilonia Neighborhood Association and its spokesman Manuel López have expressed their indignation at the enormous deployment of the Civil Guard which, in their opinion, is "a humiliation of the residents, who are just normal people, with families and Small children".

He said that “the operation experienced by residents is appalling and extremely humiliating for ordinary members of the public. The actions of the administration are out of control, and we no longer know what we can do to ensure that people's rights are respected”.

The more than 80 houses that remain in the same street maintain their judicial fight against the demolition, which began in the National Court, later in the Supreme Court and is now in the Constitutional Court. In 2018 Costas decided not to extend its concessions with the criteria that the advance of the sea was endangering the integrity of the houses.

This is something that the residents emphati- cally deny, stating that it is the administration that is responsible for the degradation of the coastline, up and down the entire coastal area between Santa Pola and Cabo Cervera, due to its inaction and its infrastructures at the mouth of the Rio Segura.

SUMAoffice, as payment plans can be arranged, but this is easier if you make the contact and agreement before the end of the voluntary period.

More information can be found on the SUMA website, www.suma.es/periodo-pago-voluntario, which is available in English, and where you can also make contact or book an appointment.

If your town hallís collections are not handled by SUMA, you should contact them direct.