The Mayor of Funchal confirmed that the municipality was notified to pay four executions worth one million euros for debts to the public company ARM and that if it did not do so, the municipality’s account would be seized, and blocked.
“It has not yet been 48 hours since we were confronted with a warrant for the seizure of the bank account of the Municipality of Funchal, by the Tax Authority of approximately one million euros,” said Cristina Pedra, at a press conference, in which she met with her team of councilors, the ongoing legal process and several reams of unpaid invoices that are at the heart of this dispute.
The tax authorities’ advance results from an upstream decision by the Supreme Court of Justice, which ruled in favor of ARM on the missing payments.
Although there is still no decision on the main case, which is still pending in the courts, this decision by the Supreme Court has already allowed the tax authorities to proceed with collection. Cristina Pedra admits that more executions are on the way.
Cristina Pedra blamed the previous executives, led by Miguel Silva Gouveia, for not having paid a debt that was accumulated between 2013 and 2021, which is increasing due to added interest.
Tough with the previous executives, Cristina Pedra said that the current management received “a heavy and irresponsible inheritance” that has generated a municipality time bomb.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
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