FREE!
SOUTH EDITION
Your English Newspaper
3 - 9 SEPTEMBER 2010
Hacienda launches investigation into Town Hall fraud
Clampdown on benefit fraud
A HIGH profile drive to clampdown on benefit cheats living on the Costas has left the Government red-faced after being branded a failure. • p4
Local Town Hall denounced
THE ‘ARCANGEL’ Neighbours Association in San Miguel de Salinas have denounced the Town Hall for their passivity in getting the area cleared of rubbish. • p6
by Louise Clarke
Florida’s gold rush INVESTORS CAN strike gold in the land of opportunity and get their money working for them again through the purchase of a US property and offering it to the booming rental market. • p30
Aunty Virus Aunty Virus answers your weekly technical questions, this week changing internet provider. • p50
Cricket in a tight spot
Andy Kay’s weekly column this week talks about the faceless ECB official banging on about how the media was blowing the Pakistan spot fixing saga out of all proportion. • p62
Issue 568
Lynda Bellingham
Lynda Bellingham speaks to RTN RTN HAVE had the pleasure of meeting Lynda Bellingham to talk about her acting work and more importantly, her role as Patron of the Costa Blanca Samaritans. See page 11 for the full interview.
TO SAY that the last few months have been uneventful for the Orihuela Town Hall is one hell of an understatement and just when the Mayor, Monica Lorente, and her Councillors thought that it was safe to come out of the Ayuntamiento, the Hacienda, has announced this week that Orihuela Town Hall could be investigated for alleged irregularities in tax payments, specifically those related to urban planning. The Spanish tax office will be requesting information from 150 municipalities, including Orihuela, after finding evidence of irregularities in re-zoning, land awards and the promotion of urban development. The implicated municipalities, which also includes La Vila Joiosa, in the north of Alicante province, are said to be responsible for the ‘urban explosion’ that took place during the ‘boom’ years and are the municipalities which have profited the most in recent years as a result of their urban planning activities.
A senior official at the Hacienda said: “In the heat of the overwhelming wealth that has arisen from urban planning, there is monumental fraud. The tax office is well aware of this reality and has kept a track of urban development in many of the municipalities with evidence of irregularities. This information is key to unlocking serious real estate fraud cases.” The Spokesman added: “Since 2006, the Tax Office has requested information from 55 municipalities directly and the figure could treble over the coming months if one takes into account the requests made by their own regional government delegations. Therefore, the most optimistic figure would increase the number to over 150.” Andalucía tops the list of communities with more municipalities tracked by the Tax Office. The intense urban development in recent years, especially in the Costa del Sol, has placed the Andalucía municipalities in the focus of the Inspectorate. Continued on page 3