Doubts by law that charges a tax on improvements

Some residents of the surroundings of the Pío López-Lara sports complex, located on the grounds of the former Ramón Unamuno stadium in Guayaquil, say they do not fully understand the ninth general provision included in Section 14 of the recently approved Organic Law on Efficiency of Public Procurement.

This section allows the State bodies to charge citizens with a Special Improvement Tax when they execute works that revalue the properties. For example, the owners of the properties benefiting from the construction of the Pío López-Lara complex would be obliged to pay that contribution.

The provision took Carlos, 40, by surprise, who says he does not understand why he and his neighbors should pay for a work that is built “with our money.”

The bill, which has already been sent to the President´s office for its sanction or partial or total veto, establishes that the owners of all properties benefited must pay the full cost of the work, in a term of ten years.

The amount to be paid by each owner must not exceed 50% of the new reappraise “experienced by the property before and after the reconstruction works.”