Outcry in Playa del Carmen Over Proposed Property Tax Hike

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Tensions are rising in Playa del Carmen as the city’s business community and legal experts unite to reject a controversial proposal to dramatically increase property tax values in 2026. They claim the initiative—put forth by Mayor Estefanía Mercado Asencio’s administration—is based on a secretive and flawed methodology that would inflict disproportionate financial harm on residents, business owners, and the already-struggling tourism sector.

The heart of the dispute lies in the municipality’s proposed “Tabla de Valores Unitarios de Suelo y Construcción”—the table of unit land and construction values used to calculate property taxes. Business leaders, organized through the Consejo Coordinador Empresarial de la Riviera Maya (CCERM), say the proposed adjustments would raise tax burdens in some areas by 500% to 900%, without proper economic justification or public consultation.

A United Front: Businesses and Bar Association Demand Reset

The CCERM, which includes major players such as AMPI Playa del Carmen, Canirac, Coparmex, the Riviera Maya Hotel Association, and other trade and professional groups, has demanded that the entire process be thrown out and restarted. On July 23—just days before the proposal’s review deadline—they submitted formal objections to the municipal cadastre director, Mauricio Adrián Leal Maldonado.

Their demands include:

• A complete reboot of the valuation process, based on a transparent, zone-specific technical market study.
• Public release of the calculation methodology, which has so far remained hidden from stakeholders.
• Limits on tax increases, tied strictly to Mexico’s official inflation rate (INPC), to ensure fairness.

In solidarity, the Barra de Abogados de la Riviera Maya A.C. (Bar Association) added legal weight to the opposition, calling the process “vitiated” and legally invalid. Their analysis slammed the government’s use of just 58 arbitrarily selected properties—out of more than 137,000 in the municipality—as the basis for setting new values.

“That’s not a study—it’s extrapolation at best, guesswork at worst,” the Bar stated. “You cannot use the same data set to appraise luxury condos in Playacar, commercial storefronts on Quinta Avenida, affordable housing in Villas del Sol, and rustic lots on the urban fringe.”

Economic Concerns Amid an Unstable Outlook

Opponents of the proposal warn that the steep tax hikes come at the worst possible time. Playa del Carmen’s economy—still heavily dependent on tourism—is showing signs of strain. Business leaders cited a decline in tourist arrivals, reduced U.S. flights, and lingering fears over crime and extortion as serious threats to the local economy.

“The government cannot ignore the current context,” said one CCERM spokesperson. “Raising property valuations by hundreds of percent in the middle of a tourism slump and inflationary pressure is not just tone-deaf—it’s dangerous.”

They also flagged increasing competition from newer, safer destinations with modern infrastructure, as well as the rise of vacation rentals, which are cutting into the hotel sector’s profitability.

Transparency, Legality, and Fairness in Question

Both the business groups and the Bar Association accused the municipal government—particularly the Treasury Department led by Javier Regalado Hendricks—of violating key principles of tax law: legality, equity, and proportionality.

Among their chief complaints:

• Lack of transparency: No public explanation or documentation was provided showing how new values were calculated.
• Flawed methodology: The sample used to determine property values represents just 0.042% of total properties—statistically meaningless for mass valuation.
• Invented “adjustment factors”: Proposed zone factors (Fzo) are described as arbitrary and unsupported by market evidence.
• No justification for rezoning: The city failed to explain how new valuation zones were created or why previous ones were maintained.

The Bar Association further warned that denying citizens access to the full technical dossier amounts to a breach of their right to public consultation, rendering the process legally void.

What They’re Asking For

The business and legal sectors are not opposed to revising the property tax base—but they insist that it be done correctly. Their key recommendations include:

• A new technical study that is segmented by property type, statistically representative, and open to public scrutiny.
• Removal of arbitrary fixed adjustment factors.
• A new window for public participation, accompanied by full access to all supporting documents.

The Bar Association also issued a final warning: if adopted as-is, the valuation tables would not only inflate property taxes but create uncertainty for real estate investment, drive up operational costs for small businesses, and put undue financial stress on fixed-income families and retirees.

“In place of confrontation,” they wrote, “we extend an invitation to collaboration.”

For now, the clock is ticking. The municipality has yet to respond publicly to the outcry—but the unified opposition from both Playa’s economic engine and its legal defenders signals that this tax fight is just getting started.