General protocol for action between the State Tax Administration Agency and the Platform for Senior Citizens and Pensioners

In Madrid, 19 December 2022

PARTIES INVOLVED

On the one hand, the State Agency for Tax Administration, represented by Ms. Soledad Fernández Doctor, in her capacity as Director General, a post to which she was appointed by Royal Decree 436/2022, of 8 June, acting by virtue of the delegation of powers of its President agreed by Resolution of 9 May 2022 and in use of the powers conferred on her by Article 103.three.2 of Law 31/1990, of 27 December, on the General State Budget for 1991.

On the other hand, the Plataforma de Mayores y Pensionistas, represented by Mr. Ángel Rodríguez Castedo, in his capacity as President, acting in the name and on behalf of said entity, by virtue of article 17 of the Statutes of said Platform.

The parties declare that they have and mutually recognise that they have the legal capacity and sufficient legitimacy to enter into this general protocol of action.

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

I

The State Tax Administration Agency (hereinafter, the Tax Agency) is the public law entity responsible, in the name and on behalf of the State, for the effective application of the State tax and customs system and those resources of other national or European Union public administrations and bodies whose management is entrusted to it by law or by agreement.

The Plataforma de Mayores y Pensionistas (hereinafter, PMP) is a state-wide, non-profit association, born as a process of confluence of the most representative Organisations, Federations and Confederations of Elderly and Pensioners in the national territory.It represents the associative movement of the elderly (15,079 associations, with more than 5,746,000 individual members) and its mission lies in facilitating and structuring a solid and fluid interlocution with the public authorities and other social actors.The PMP works with the aim of establishing, within the framework of government action, a channel of contact that enables consultation and listening to key decisions and policies that affect the rights, interests and needs of older people, thus promoting that all public policies and actions are planned in close dialogue and cooperation with the group itself.

II

The representatives of the PMP expressed the concern of their associates regarding the exclusion and the impact that the digitalisation process is having on the lives of the elderly with respect to various areas of the Public Administrations, highlighting, at the same time, the efforts made by the Tax Agency to carry out information and assistance actions in such a way that they are more accessible to all groups.

For its part, the Tax Agency has shown its willingness to continue and advance in its attention to the problems of the elderly, by promoting actions to ensure that they receive complete and up-to-date information on their rights, as well as providing the support and advice they need to comply with their tax obligations.

III

The elderly make up a large sector of the population and, therefore, a large number of taxpayers who interact with the Tax Agency, which makes it advisable to establish channels to facilitate this relationship by entering into agreements with institutions that represent their interests, such as PMP.

In the light of the above, both parties consider it highly beneficial to enter into this general protocol in order to establish a general framework of collaboration within which future actions will be undertaken, in accordance with the following

AGREEMENTS

FIRST.OBJECT

The purpose of this protocol is to establish the basic guidelines for the Tax Agency's assistance to the elderly in exercising their rights and fulfilling their tax obligations.

SECOND.GENERAL COMMITMENT OF THE PARTIES

By virtue of this protocol, the parties undertake to provide each other with the cooperation necessary for the best attainment of the objectives pursued.

Failure by either of the parties to comply with the commitments undertaken shall entitle the other party to request the termination of the protocol, after hearing the Joint Collaboration Commission.

The PMP, without altering its responsibility in the fulfilment of its obligations, may entrust the execution of the actions that it is responsible for carrying out by virtue of this protocol and its specific collaboration agreements, to any of the Platform's partner organisations, unless the Tax Agency expressly declares otherwise.The PMP will communicate this to the single interlocutor of the Tax Agency prior to the start of the above-mentioned execution.

THIRD.JOINT COLLABORATION COMMISSION

1.A Joint Collaboration Commission will be set up on an equal footing, made up of four members, two representing the Tax Agency and two representing the PMP.

The head of the Directorate General of the Tax Agency will appoint a representative of the Planning and Institutional Relations Service, who will act as chairman, and a representative of the Tax Management Department.

The representatives of the PMP shall be appointed by its President.

2.The Joint Partnership Commission shall perform the following functions:

1. Identification and analysis of the specific problems of older people in the exercise of their rights and the fulfilment of their obligations in the field of taxation.

2. Proposed measures and actions.

3. Evaluating the results obtained.

4. Promotion and monitoring of the collaboration between the parties for the fulfilment of the protocol.

5. Resolution of incidents and controversies that may arise regarding the interpretation and implementation of the protocol.

3.The Commission, which shall be convened by its chairman, shall meet for the first time within three months of the signing of this protocol, ordinarily once a year in the last quarter, and extraordinarily whenever necessary at the request of any of the signatories to the protocol.

FOURTH.ACTIVITIES

The competent bodies of the Tax Agency may agree, at the proposal of the Joint Collaboration Commission, among others, on the following measures and actions:

1. The Tax Agency shall draw up an assistance plan for the elderly, which it shall update by 31 January each year.Its content will take into account the information on the problems and needs of the elderly in exercising their rights and fulfilling their tax obligations provided by the PMP.

2. The communication of information and the provision of assistance for the preparation of tax returns and other tax formalities by telephone will be increased, mainly by promoting the implementation and development of Integrated Digital Assistance Administrations (ADI).

3. Face-to-face assistance for the elderly will be maintained to the extent that they continue to request it, so that full assistance can be provided at any Tax Agency office through a preferential appointment system, and, if the capacity of the service at any given time allows, without the need for an appointment.

4. Work will be carried out on the development of agreements with local entities for the implementation of actions aimed at providing information and assistance services in their area.

5. The PMP will disseminate, through its publications, web pages or other media, the information and assistance activities available to the elderly, and the Tax Agency will send all information that may be of interest to this group, especially the taxpayer's calendar and telephone helplines.

6. A review will be carried out of the most frequently used models and forms and, in particular, of those corresponding to electronic procedures, in order to simplify and clarify the texts and operating instructions.

7. On the occasion of the annual Personal Income Tax campaign, the Tax Agency will produce an informative leaflet, on paper and electronic media, with information for the elderly on the main information and assistance services.The Tax Agency will distribute the brochures through its Delegations, Special Delegations and Administrations, and the PMP will also collaborate in their dissemination among its associates.

8. The PMP will provide the Tax Agency with non-advertising space in its publications to publicise the information and assistance actions implemented.

9. The above actions will be intensified on the occasion of the annual Personal Income Tax campaign.

10. The PMP undertakes to inform, assist and advise the Tax Agency, among other issues, on technical developments, tools and definition of existing or new standards that may influence the better service that the Tax Agency provides to the elderly.

FIFTH.FINANCING

Each of the parties shall bear the costs that may arise from the implementation of the actions arising from this protocol that are incumbent upon it.

SIXTH.APPLICABLE LEGAL REGIME

This general protocol of action is not considered an agreement, in accordance with the provisions of article 47.1, second paragraph, of Law 40/2015, of 1 October, on the Legal Regime of the Public Sector, as it involves mere declarations of intent of general content that express the will of its subscribing parties to act with a common objective, without entailing the formalisation of specific and enforceable legal commitments.

No contractual or legal obligations of any kind are derived from this protocol for the parties, and it is therefore excluded from the application of Law 9/2017, of 8 November, on Public Sector Contracts, and Law 40/2015, of 1 October, on the Legal Regime of the Public Sector.

SEVENTH.VALIDITY

This protocol shall be applicable from the day following its signature and shall have a duration of two years, unless expressly denounced by either of the parties one month before the end of the aforementioned period, which shall be extendable for an equal period by unanimous and express agreement of both parties.

In witness whereof, the parties have signed this General Memorandum of Understanding on the date and at the place indicated in the heading.