MADRID: Vodafone has announced its intention to appeal against the tax imposed by Madrid’s city council on telecoms operators for their use of public land, reports Expansion, citing Vodafone’s regulation director Pedro Pena. The company will lodge an appeal before Spanish and European courts against the recent judgment handed down by Spain’s Supreme Court, which ruled that Madrid city council’s tax on telecoms operators for fixed infrastructure installed on public land for mobile services was legal.
The ruling forced Vodafone to stop short of fully merging its Spanish unit with Ono, saying it would have to pay EUR 600-700 million a year in costs if the Madrid ruling were extended nationally. Pena said more than 130 councils had already copied the model applied in Madrid.
