Brits asked for "voluntary tax" to legalise homes

Residents in the inland village of Vinuela on the Eastern Costa del Sol have received letters from the local town hall asking for "voluntary payments" of between six and twelve thousand euro's, to make their homes legal.

Most of the people affected are British or German, and they have said that they will be forming a protest group to protect their rights and to "denounce" this odd system of collecting tax.

Some residents it seems have already made the payments for fear of losing their properties, but the action group that attracted 300 people to its first meeting, claimed they will be fighting om behalf of everybody involved.

The letters are dated from the time the illegal building started and are stamped by the town hall, but have no signature and no return address.