A billiard club has not paid full municipal taxes for nearly 10 years, a period in which possession of the property passed between four different companies. While some of the companies were foreign companies, one person received a power of attorney from them to perform operations on them, including the appointment of managers.
The Court held that the person who received the power of attorney is liable for the municipal tax debt of the three foreign companies. In the case of a non-residential property owned by a private company, the local authority may collect the property tax debt from the person who owns 25% of the company or may appoint a director, when the company ceased operations and transferred the activity to another company under similar control, including control of relatives, without consideration or for partial consideration. The municipality can demand the payment within 7 years from the date of transfer of the activity. Here, the same person who owned the first company was not the owner of the other companies, foreign companies, but received from them a power of attorney that allowed him to actually manage them. He is therefore a controlling shareholder in these companies and is personally liable for their municipal tax debts. Because the first of the four companies ceased operation more than 7 years before the lawsuit was filed, it is no longer possible to demand payment for its municipal tax debts.