Minutes of the meeting

MINUTES OF THE PLENARY MEETING OF THE FORUM OF ASSOCIATIONS AND
COLLEGES OF TAX PROFESSIONALS
HELD ON NOVEMBER 29, 2016

President of the Forum of Associations and Colleges of Tax Professionals

Director General of the State Agency for Tax Administration

Mr. Santiago Menéndez Menéndez

Members representing the State Tax Administration Agency:

Director of the Tax Management Department

Mr. Rufino de la Rosa Cordon

Director of the Department of Financial and Tax Inspection

Mr. Luis Mª Sánchez González

Director of the Tax Information Technology Department

Mr. Manuel Alfonso Castro Martínez

Director of Legal Services

Mr. Diego Loma-Osorio Lerena

Director of the Planning and Institutional Relations Service

Mr. Ángel Rodríguez Rodríguez

Special Delegate of Catalonia

Mr. Gonzalo David García de Castro

Deputy Director General of Coordination and Management - Collection Department

Mr. Miguel Lorenz Falomir

Members representing Associations and Colleges

Spanish Association of Tax Advisors

Director of the Office of Studies

Mrs. Helena Pujalte Méndez-Leite

Professional Association of Accounting and Tax Experts of Spain

Delegate of Madrid

Mr. José Antonio Fernández García-Moreno

General Council of the Spanish Bar Association

Vice Dean of the Balearic Bar Association

Mr. Rafael Gil March

General Council of Colleges of Customs Agents and Brokers

Secretary of the Board

Mr. Manuel Lopez Frias

General Council of Colleges of Administrative Managers of Spain

President of the College of Galicia

Ms. Pilar Otero Moar

General Council of Official Colleges of Social Graduates of Spain

Specialist in Fiscal and Tax Studies

Mr. Jose Castaño Semitiel

Spanish Federation of Professional Associations of Tax Technicians and Tax Advisors

Head of the Studies Office

Mr. Jose Luis Carreras Torres

Office of Administrative Managers and Tax Advisors

Lawyer

Mrs. Raquel Cobos Casero

General Registry of Tax Advisors / Registry of Tax Advisor Economists

Vice President of the Board of Directors

Mr. Miguel Angel Ruiz Ayuso

Member of the Board of Directors

Mr. Jesus Fernandez-Bravo Pinto

Technical Secretariat of the Forum of Associations and Professional Colleges

Deputy Director General of External Communication – Planning and Institutional Relations Service

Mr. Rafael Serrano Galan

Coordinating Inspector – Planning and Institutional Relations Service

Mrs. Maria Dolores Carreno Beltran

In Madrid, on November 29, 2016, the tenth plenary meeting of the Forum of Associations and Colleges of Tax Professionals is held, attended by the persons mentioned above, and in accordance with the following

AGENDA

1. Opening by the Director General of the State Tax Administration Agency.

2. Approval of the minutes of the meeting held on July 5, 2016.

3. News from the 2016 Income Tax campaign.

4. Information on topics discussed in the working group.

5. Other considerations, requests and questions.

I.- In development of the first point of the agenda , the session was opened by Mr. Santiago Menéndez Menéndez, General Director of the State Tax Administration Agency and President of the Forum of Associations and Colleges of Tax Professionals, who after welcoming and thanking everyone present for their attendance, said that he would like to take this opportunity to highlight the renewal of the Tax Agency's commitment to this Forum to continue advancing in the already established model of transparency and mutual trust. He goes on to say that the increase in social collaboration for the electronic filing of tax returns can be considered as an achievement of the relationship developed between the Tax Agency and the associations and colleges of tax professionals. He adds that this has meant a great boost to electronic administration and a significant reduction in indirect tax burdens, which would not have been possible without the participation of tax professionals.

Mr. Santiago Menéndez goes on to indicate that, on the other hand, current circumstances show that it is essential, in order for the social collaboration system to be able to consolidate and develop, to consider new challenges, derived both from the application of the tax system and from the development of new technologies, and that he wants to take advantage of this event to convey to the associations and colleges that make up this Forum a clear and resounding message of continuity and promotion of the same, as a channel for dialogue and mutual recognition of the work that both the Administration and social collaborators carry out. In line with the above, it should be noted that the working group of this Forum met on 25 October to discuss various issues in detail. Among other things, the incidents that occurred during the 2015 Corporate Tax campaign were analysed, with emphasis on the need to simplify the model as much as possible. The effects derived from the entry into force of Law 39/2015, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations, were also studied, specifically analyzing the scope of the First Additional Provision, which establishes the tax specialty, the impact on powers of attorney and electronic notifications, as well as the transitional regime regarding deadlines in the procedures.

II.- In development of the second point of the agenda , the President of the Forum gives the floor to Mr. Rafael Serrano Galán, as head of the Technical Secretariat of the Forum, who explains the process of preparing the minutes of the previous meeting and addresses those present in case they wish to make any observations or comments on them. Since they are not formulated, it declares that the minutes of the meeting of 5 July 2016 are approved and will be published in the space reserved for the Forum on the Tax Agency's website.

III.- In development of the third point of the agenda , Mr. Santiago Menéndez gives the floor to Mr. Rufino de la Rosa Cordón, Director of the Tax Management Department, who, supporting his dissertation with a presentation, begins by outlining the main novelties of next year's Income Tax Campaign, clarifying that it is not the definitive design and that, on the other hand, it maintains a continuous line. The main new developments include the generalisation of Renta WEB, including taxpayers with economic activities, and the elimination of the PADRE programme. Thus, in the next fiscal year, taxpayers will only be able to prepare their tax return either through Renta WEB or through commercial programs. The main consequence of the elimination of the PADRE program has been the modification and strengthening of relations with the development companies of software, since they have been using the program for many years to check the proper functioning of their work.

The Director of the Tax Management Department goes on to highlight the establishment of a new system for correcting self-assessments. Until now, if the error caused harm to the Treasury, the taxpayer had to file a supplementary declaration and if it was detrimental to the taxpayer, the latter had to file a written request for rectification. With Renta WEB, the possibility has been incorporated that, if the taxpayer wishes, they can request rectification of the self-assessment through the application. The procedures have not changed; They are still the presentation of a complementary or rectification and will be treated differently by the Tax Agency services, but by implementing it within Renta WEB, the task has been simplified for the interested party and also for the social collaborators, while speeding up the processing.

Next, D. Rufino de la Rosa lists the most relevant developments:

• Usability and navigation improvements, making it simpler and more intuitive.

• Improvements in the downloading and transfer of tax data as a result of changes made to certain information declarations (forms 181, 182, 190, etc.), which allow the incorporation of data such as, for example, the recurrence of donations. Furthermore, in terms of personal and family data, not only the latest declaration will be taken into account, but also those obtained from the census.

• Improvements in the profile of non-obligated persons.

• Improved visualization of transferred data, especially in cases where the taxpayer has to complete the information. When any data is missing, a warning will appear via pop-up messages.

• The change of habitual residence, both for the declarant and the spouse, can only be completed if the "Change of address" box has been checked.

• As previously stated, a new section has been included for the request for rectification of the self-assessment, which is voluntary, since if the taxpayer so wishes, he or she can do so in writing. It will be possible to link to a record to submit additional documentation from the declaration model itself. The standardisation of this procedure will mean greater agility in the processing of these requests and that refunds can be incorporated into the campaign itself.

• The information on regional deductions for housing rentals has been reorganized.

• Improvement in the incorporation of data corresponding to deductions for large families, for ascendants with two children or for dependents with disabilities, since in the 2015 campaign filling out the right to this deduction was not as simple as would have been desired.

• Simplifying the campaign calendar: Although it is still provisional, the income tax campaign is expected to start on April 5 and will do so with all its effects, that is, filing either through Renta WEB or by pre-declaration at a financial institution, can be done from the first moment. Assistance at the Tax Agency offices is also expected to begin in May, and the possibility of requesting an appointment remains.

• Improving cadastral information, differentiating the value of the land from the value of the flight.

The Director of the Tax Management Department concluded his speech by pointing out that all the difficulties that arose in the first year of implementation of Renta WEB have been resolved for the 2016 tax campaign.

The President then opens the floor for the floor.

The first to speak was Mr Rafael Gil March, Vice-Dean of the Balearic Bar Association and representative of the General Council of Spanish Lawyers, who raised two questions. Firstly, and in relation to the imputations of cadastral data, he asks whether it would not be possible to rectify them directly through the declaration, since due to the fact that the cadastre is not sufficiently refined or because modifications arise from inheritances or other transfers, parallel declarations are generated every year that must be attended to, correcting only the data punctually but not for subsequent years. Secondly, he comments that the simplification and streamlining of the procedure for requesting rectification of self-assessments has been a highly demanded topic in all the sessions of this Forum and asks whether there will be a deadline for submitting the request and whether it coincides with the deadline for voluntary submission or can it be done later.

Mr. Rufino de la Rosa Cordón takes the floor and, regarding the first question, points out that several meetings are held throughout the year with those responsible for the Cadastre in order to inform them of all the incidents that occur both in the income tax campaign and in the rest of the procedures. He added that in his opinion there has been great progress in this area and that the number of incidents is decreasing. On the other hand, he points out that he does not see it possible that a cadastral data, whether in terms of its value or its ownership, can be corrected through the income tax return, since we would be dealing with a different procedure, in this case, of a cadastral nature.

Regarding the rectification of self-assessments, he clarifies that the regulations have not been modified, but only the way in which it can be carried out, that is, that the deadlines and procedures are those established, so it can be carried out not only during the campaign, but also afterwards with, where appropriate, the corresponding surcharge. The Director of the Tax Management Department adds that this modification has been introduced in Renta WEB for the next fiscal year and subsequent ones, but that it is not possible to use it for a rectification in 2015.

Next, Mr. Ángel Rodríguez Rodríguez, Director of the Planning and Institutional Relations Service, intervened to indicate, in relation to the first question raised by the representative of the General Council of Spanish Lawyers, that the General Directorate of Cadastre has informed the Tax Agency that it is working very closely with notaries and registrars so that they send them the information directly, which means that it is possible that these cadastral incidents will be eliminated in the near future.

Mr Rafael Gil March then takes the floor and explains that both the Administration and the social collaborators are interested in having purified cadastral data, since it would avoid a series of unwanted rectification procedures. He adds that sometimes the data in the Land Registry is not wrong, but that, for example in the case of inheritances, it may happen that only one of the heirs appears in the title and the problem is that the professional finds this circumstance in the middle of the income tax campaign. He therefore requests that the possibility of implementing some type of procedure be studied in order to be able to attach the documentation and that the General Directorate of Cadastre rectify it in some way.

Mr. Alfonso Castro, Director of the Tax Information Technology Department, intervenes and proposes speaking with the General Directorate of the Cadastre and studying the possibility of establishing links between Renta WEB and the Cadastre procedures, so that in the event of an incident in the cadastral data, the taxpayer is directed directly to the relevant procedure.

Mr. Santiago Menéndez Menéndez then takes the floor and clarifies that with the cadastral data declared by a taxpayer, the only thing that can be done is to communicate it to the General Directorate of Cadastre, which will act accordingly through the procedures it has established for this purpose, but that in no case can a declaration be given legal value in terms of ownership.

Mr. Rafael Gil March intervenes again and explains that this special procedure is requested for very clear cases, in which the deed is available, and there are no aspects to assess.

Mr Rufino de la Rosa Cordón reiterates that the only thing the Tax Agency can do is facilitate access to the procedures of the General Directorate of Cadastre, but that those responsible would be the ones who would have to resolve the procedure.

Mr. José Luis Carreras Torres, Head of the Research Office of the Spanish Federation of Professional Associations of Tax Technicians and Tax Advisors, took the floor and stated that his association had met twice with the General Directorate of Cadastre in an attempt to establish a channel of collaboration through which to resolve cadastral incidents in a quick and direct manner. He added that the General Directorate's response was that its legal department would study the matter, but that, in principle, they did not see the implementation of a series of connections that would put social collaborators on the same level as notaries and registrars as feasible. For this reason, the Tax Agency is requested to collaborate in establishing a direct communication channel between the social partners and the General Directorate of Cadastre.

Mr. Santiago Menéndez Menéndez intervened and stated that the Tax Agency is committed to forwarding to the General Directorate of the Cadastre the data that the taxpayer or tax professionals declare in their tax returns, as well as the documentation they provide, but reiterated that this is a procedure that will be resolved by those responsible for the Cadastre.

Mr. José Luis Carreras Torres takes the floor and states that the Tax Agency does accept the documentation provided to resolve the cadastral incident in the Income Tax for the year in question, but what happens is that the following year the same error occurs again because the General Directorate of Cadastre does not finish purifying the data. This is why they are requesting some kind of link so that the incident can be clarified once and for all and rectified.

Next, Mr. José Castaño Semitiel, Member of the Fiscal Affairs Committee of the General Council of Official Colleges of Social Graduates of Spain, intervened and asked if there was any news regarding RENØ. Also, and after congratulating on the simplification introduced in the rectification of self-assessments, ask if the rectification request can also be made from commercial programs or only through Renta WEB.

Mr. Rufino de la Rosa Cordón answers that this new way of requesting rectification involves a series of subsequent procedures that entail a certain difficulty, so for the next fiscal year it is only contemplated for Renta WEB.

Mr. Alfonso Castro Martínez intervened to indicate that there is a technical difficulty in implementing the rectification request through commercial programs, since while with Renta WEB the Tax Agency has all the breakdowns of the declaration, with commercial programs only the information on the result is obtained. However, the Director of Tax Information Technology adds that the issue is being studied, although this will not be possible for the next fiscal year.

Mr Rufino de la Rosa Cordón points out that the Tax Agency has to decide what to devote its efforts to and, compared to the nineteen and a half million declarations that are expected, the taxpayers who can submit a rectification request do not represent a significant number. However, he reiterated that the issue will be analyzed.

The representative of the General Council of Official Colleges of Social Graduates of Spain indicates that for tax professionals it is important to be able to make the modification on a declaration that they have already filed and for this reason they ask that the possibility be studied. On the other hand, he comments that he has not been clear about the issue of the deadlines for requesting rectification and, finally, he requests that, just as the start date of the campaign is being brought forward, the Tax Agency should not consider bringing forward its end.

Mr Rufino de la Rosa explains that the Tax Agency does not plan to shorten the campaign since it has to provide service to nineteen million taxpayers, many of them with very little tax preparation.

The President of the Forum intervened, pointing out that in this matter the Tax Agency is open to all suggestions made, since modifications will be introduced and progress will continue to be made and, to the extent possible, requests from social collaborators will be incorporated. He highlights that Renta WEB represents a change in the way the Tax Agency relates to taxpayers, introducing speed, mediation, flexibility, etc.

IV.- In development of the fourth point of the agenda , the President gives the floor to Mr. Ángel Rodríguez Rodríguez, Director of the Planning and Institutional Relations Service. He begins by pointing out that the meeting of the Working Group of this Forum took place on October 25 and the following issues were discussed:

• It was reported that the Tax Agency was working to make the completion of corporate tax forms more agile and simple.

• Associations and schools were asked to provide feedback on the 2015 Societies campaign, as a number of complaints had been received. In this regard, social collaborators expressed that they had not noticed much difference in this campaign from previous ones, reiterating the request for simplification of the models.

• The Tax Agency undertook to analyse and study within the framework of the Working Group any suggestions that were submitted to it within a reasonable period of time and to report on the progress made and the suggestions that had been implemented.

• In relation to the First Additional Provision of Law 39/2015, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations, it was reported that the Tax Agency understood that the tax specialty covered declarations and self-assessments.

• It was also reported that paper submissions made by subjects obliged to interact with the Administration by electronic means would be accepted, without prejudice to the initiation of disciplinary proceedings, if applicable.

• Regarding the absence of an obligation to provide documents prepared by another Administration, provided that there is no express objection from the interested party, it was commented in the Working Group that this task exceeded the scope of the Tax Agency itself as the different public Administrations were involved, but that further progress should be made since the legal mandate is clear and the Administrations must collect them electronically through their corporate networks or by consulting the data intermediation platforms or other electronic systems enabled for this purpose.

• As regards the electronic registry of powers of attorney, notary publics would be registered in the registry of the General State Administration and not in the specific registry of the Tax Agency, where powers of attorney for specific procedures in tax matters would be registered.

• It was reported that work was underway to adapt in-person registration so that the documentation provided by the interested party could be digitized immediately and the originals returned to them.

• It was mentioned that the Tax Agency is interested in promoting the electronic address enabled for subjects not obliged to interact electronically with the Administration and the novelty that the “Notification Notice” represented, which although it had no legal effects regarding the validity of the notification, it did have them for informational purposes.

• Regarding the transitional regime, it was indicated that the procedures initiated before the entry into force of Law 39/2015 would continue to be processed under the previous regulations, but that, nevertheless, in terms of deadlines, an attempt would be made to extend the consideration of Saturday as a non-working day, since it was more favorable for the interested parties.

• As regards tax complaints, these would remain anonymous.

• The Associations and Colleges suggested that the models be unified, since the same information was sometimes provided in different forms.

To conclude his speech, the Director of the Planning and Institutional Relations Service asked if anyone had any comments to make.

Ms. Helena Pujalte, Director of the Research Office of the Spanish Association of Tax Advisors, takes the floor and reports that they are preparing a document with the incidents that are arising and that they will send it to the Tax Agency.

Mr. Ángel Rodríguez reports that the contributions of associations and schools are greatly appreciated and that, to the extent possible, they will be studied and an attempt will be made to find solutions.

V.- In development of the fifth point of the agenda , Mr. Santiago Menéndez Menéndez addresses those present and opens a floor.

Mr Rafael Gil March intervenes, asking whether individuals will also receive the letter sent by the Tax Agency to those filing Form 750.

Mr. Santiago Menéndez reports that all filers of Form 750 will indeed receive it.

The President of the Forum then asks if there are any further comments. There were no further statements, and he thanked everyone for their attendance and participation and closed the tenth plenary session of the Forum of Associations and Colleges of Tax Professionals.