More specifically, 32.5% of the municipalities will lower the IMI rate in 2017, the municipal tax on property. This is when the intentions of 298 of the 308 municipalities have already been revealed.
I recall that a possible motivation for this downward revision is that 2017 will be an election year for local authorities and it is common for these casualties, even if they are mostly in the order of 1 or 2 tenths, to precede this type of event.
A revealing fact of this trend is that no municipality has decided to increase the IMI rate. According to the figures already known, more than half of the municipalities opted for the minimum rate, which is 0.3%, but for some municipalities it can go up to the maximum value of 0.45%.
IMI rates are defined annually by municipal assemblies as proposed by city council executives and constitute for some of the municipalities one of the main revenues, while for other municipalities, such as Lisbon, this is not the case.
In addition to the fee, municipalities are given the possibility to establish discounts for some households, depending on the number of children, the so-called IMI Familiar. Unlike 2016, as of 2017 these discounts are calculated as a fixed deduction:
- 1 child - 20 € deduction;
- 2 children - 40 € deduction;
- 3 children or more - 70 € deduction.
There is also the possibility of payment in stages. In 2016 for amounts over 250 € and less than 500 € the payment could be made in 2 installments (April and November). For amounts greater than € 500, IMI could be paid in 3 installments (April, July and November).
The rates now released refer to the year 2016 but will be charged in 2017.