Minutes of the meeting

MINUTES OF THE PLENARY MEETING OF THE FORUM OF ASSOCIATIONS AND
COLLEGES OF TAX PROFESSIONALS
HELD ON FEBRUARY 4, 2015

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 Collection Department

Mrs. Soledad Garcia Lopez

Director of the Planning and Institutional Relations Service

Mr. Ángel Rodríguez Rodríguez

Director of Legal Services

Mr. Juan Manuel Herrero from Egaña and Espinosa de los Monteros

Director of the Tax Information Technology Department

Mr. Alfonso Castro Martinez

Director of the Department of Aduanas and Excise Duties

Ms. Pilar Jurado Borrego

Special Delegate of Catalonia

Mr. Gonzalo David García de Castro

Members representing Associations and Colleges

General Council of Colleges of Administrative Managers

Vice President of the Alicante College
Mr. José Luis Tonda Martínez

Secretary of the Governing Board of the Official College of Catalonia
Ms. Carmen Dalmau i Barcardit

General Council of Official Colleges of Social Graduates of Spain

Member specializing in fiscal and tax matters
Mr. José Castaño Semitiel

Member of the Tax Affairs Committee
Mr. José Ruiz Sánchez

General Council of the Spanish Bar Association

Vice Dean of the Balearic Bar Association
Mr. Rafael Gil March

Spanish Federation of Professional Associations of Tax Technicians and Tax Advisors

President
Ms. Pilar Arxé Fonalleras

Office of Administrative Managers and Tax Advisors

Lawyer
Ms. Raquel Cobos Casero

General Registry of Tax Advisors / Registry of Tax Advisor Economists

Member of the Board of Directors
Mr. Jesús Fernández-Bravo Pinto

Vice President of the Board of Directors
Mr. Miguel Ángel Ruiz Ayuso

Spanish Association of Tax Advisors

Deputy Director of the Studies Office
Ms. Marta González Álvaro

Professional Association of Accounting and Tax Experts of Spain

President
Mr. Carlos Berrocal Rangel

Technical Secretariat of the Forum of Associations and Professional Colleges

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

Mr. Eduardo Beut Gonzalez

In Madrid, on February 4, 2015, the sixth plenary meeting of the Forum of Associations and Colleges of Tax Professionals was held, attended by the persons mentioned above, and in accordance with the following:

AGENDA

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

2. Approval of the minutes of the meeting held on July 2, 2014

3. Intervention by the Director of the Tax Management Department, which will include, among others, the following matters:

   • By appointment: Access by social partners

   • Campaign for advance payment of deductions for large families or dependents with disabilities (DAFAS) and procedures relating to returned immigrants

   • Description of the new design of the AEAT website

   • Analysis of the last news campaign

4. Other considerations, requests and questions

I.- In development of the first point of the agenda , the President of the Forum and General Director of the State Tax Administration Agency, Mr. Santiago Menéndez Menéndez, intervenes, firstly welcoming the attendees.

The President then expressed his commitment to this Forum to continue advancing the already established model of transparency and mutual trust between the Tax Agency and tax professionals.

II.- In development of the second point of the agenda , the President of the Forum gives the floor to Mr. Eduardo Beut -as head of the Technical Secretariat of the Forum- who explains the process of preparing the minutes of the previous meeting. There were no comments and the minutes of the meeting of 2 July 2014 were 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 , the President gives the floor to Mr. Rufino de la Rosa Cordón, Director of the Tax Management Department, who first of all highlights the positive effect of the greater frequency of the Forum meetings, which allows for receiving observations from tax professionals, which are very necessary for the fulfillment of the functions entrusted to the Tax Agency.

He then proceeded to discuss the issues on the agenda, supporting his presentation on screen.

• Appointment: access by social partners. Regarding the implementation of the “Appointment” system for social collaborators, it indicates that it is a special access system and that the main novelty is the establishment of “linked appointments”, which allow the social collaborator to request up to nine consecutive appointments for both the same service and for different services. In addition, the application allows you to manage appointments individually or jointly. The way to access the appointment service is through the Electronic Office, with the electronic certificate of social collaborator.

• Campaign for advance payment of deductions for large families or dependents with disabilities (DAFAS) and procedures relating to returned immigrants: Issues relating to the information and assistance campaign on the “Advance Deduction for Large Families and Dependents with Disabilities (DAFAS)” were also addressed. This is a deduction of €1,200 on the differential tax rate that taxpayers can request for each dependent descendant or ascendant with a disability and for a large family (which rises to €2,400 in the case of large honorary families). Advance payment of these deductions can be requested by completing form 143 and the amount is €100 for each of the months in which the requirements are met, with the limit of social contributions to Social Security or to the corresponding mutual societies, where applicable. There is also the possibility of requesting advance payment individually or collectively.

  Likewise, social collaborators can request advance payment through the Electronic Office. In the case of a collective application, the social collaborator will be the custodian of the documentation through which the other members of the collective application authorize the submission of the same on their behalf.

  This campaign is being managed through a “mini-portal” where taxpayers can find all the information, including the status of their application.

  Finally, Mr Rufino de la Rosa points out that most of the applications come from large families. Furthermore, it is also clear that social collaboration is carrying out an important task, which we are grateful for.

  Another of the issues discussed was the application of the sole Additional Provision of Law 26/2014, of November 27, with a double effect: On the one hand, the regularisation of pensions received from abroad and, on the other, the forgiveness of penalties, surcharges and late payment interest for pensioners who have come to be called "returnees".

  An extraordinary period has been established until June 30, 2015 for those taxpayers who have received pensions from abroad to regularize them without requiring interest, penalties or surcharges, and payments can be made up to that date. The possibility of deferment or payment in instalments is also provided for.

  Furthermore, the Transitional Provision also establishes another measure, which is related to the forgiveness of interest, surcharges and penalties for that group for which liquidation had already been carried out by the Tax Agency. It is indicated that a procedure has been established so that, through a very simple request, the forgiveness and therefore the return of the corresponding penalties, interest and surcharges can be requested. For this purpose, we have established another mini-portal in the Electronic Office.

  All those affected by the Transitional Provision will be sent a letter informing them of all this information.

• Description of the new design of the AEAT website: It refers below to a series of improvements that have been incorporated into the Electronic Office, with the collaboration of the Department of Information Technology and the Planning and Institutional Relations Service, consisting of the information on Personal Income Tax , Companies or VAT on its specific icon, so that in each of these portals the aid programs, the possibility of submitting declarations and, where applicable, queries about the status of returns, withholdings and installment payments, etc., as well as all notable news, regulations, frequently asked questions, etc.

  It also reports that the taxpayer calendar has been established in the i-calendar format so that each taxpayer can download it to their specific applications.

• Analysis of the news campaign: Finally, he points out that with regard to new developments in the campaign of informative declarations, it should be noted that two new models have been established: 187, to collect certain information related to collective investment institutions, and model 290, to collect information from financial institutions in relation to the Information Exchange Agreement with the US. The new developments with respect to 347 are basically those relating to the modifications derived from the application of VAT cash and the one consisting of the transfer of the obligation to identify leased properties, which passes to model 180. There are also minor modifications to models 190 and 182. New features include the elimination of the registration limit when using the PIN code and the extension of Form 190 for property owners' associations. In Form 390, the main change is the exclusion of the obligation to file for property landlords.

  Regarding the informative declarations, the important preventive work carried out by the Tax Agency stands out, in which social collaborators participate very actively.

  Finally, he noted that progress has been made compared to the previous year and that improvements have been made in the campaign.

IV.- Next, the fourth point on the agenda is addressed: Other considerations, requests and questions.

Mr. José Luis Tonda Martínez, representative of the General Council of Colleges of Administrative Managers of Spain, refers to a specific error in the case of a company in the presentation of form 390.

Mr. Rufino de la Rosa asks you to send him the assumption to analyze it and check where the errors can be found. He indicates that it would be ideal if, when one of these situations occurs, it would be reported to the Tax Agency in real time, since it is better to detect errors within the campaigns.

Mr Alfonso Castro Martínez, Director of the Tax Information Technology Department, added that the situation will be analysed in order to resolve the issue raised.

Mr Rafael Gil March, representative of the General Council of the Spanish Bar Association, comments that, with the exception of the prior appointment project, in which the social collaborators have had an active participation, in the rest of the projects he understands that this is not the case. Looking ahead to the Forum, they should have a greater involvement in the issues that interest them, such as the SII (Immediate Supply of Information) project. They also wish to participate in drawing up the agenda for Forum meetings. She notes that social partners may have this option and are not using it, but notes that they have observed that suggestions made have not always been taken into account. There are also deficiencies in the communication of certain projects for which there is no information prior to their publication.

He added that procedures should be established for simple rectifications that were quick to implement, thus facilitating the correction of deficiencies and errors. This would prevent falling into the automatic sanctions of the current system, which leads social collaborators to assume a great responsibility that often forces them to take out professional liability insurance.

He then addresses the problem of the fiscal calendar, stressing that he assumes that the deadline will ever be reduced. He adds that these sessions should be used to clarify these subjects and thus make them more practical and more beneficial.

Finally, he points out that it would be good if system crashes were communicated to collaborators when they occur.

Ms. Pilar Arxé Fonalleras, representative of the Spanish Federation of Professional Associations of Tax Technicians and Tax Advisors, also refers to the problem of communication when a computer problem occurs at the Tax Agency, since it would be very simple to send an email to the members of the Forum communicating the situation.

The President said he fully agreed, as communication is one of the Forum's goals. However, to access certain levels of work there are Working Groups. To this end, all the necessary Forums can be established from this Forum. In any case, as regards the issues on the agenda, the Tax Agency is open to all suggestions that may be included as points on the agenda that are communicated. He points out that there is nothing that the social collaborators wanted to discuss in these meetings that has not been discussed. In addition, it indicates that there is a section for questions and requests in the agenda where any matter that is not explicitly listed can be included. He says that there is no problem in making any proposals that are desired using the appropriate communication channels. The best thing to do is to do it in writing and to the Technical Secretariat of the Forum. He points out that it is enough to do so and they will be included in the agenda.

He goes on to point out that with regard to the SII project, the members of this Forum have been informed well in advance at a meeting of the Working Group on 26 November 2014. With regard to other specific projects, he points out that these are undertaken when regulatory changes occur and the Tax Agency manages these changes. Therefore, what should be sought is a channel of communication with the General Directorate of Taxes. This channel could even be this Forum, but it is preferable that we focus here on management, since it is the proper scope of this Forum.

He added that the issue of professional liability is beyond the scope of the Forum. Regarding the comments made about the automatic nature of sanctions, he points out that it is one thing for the procedures to be automated and another thing for the imposition of sanctions to be carried out automatically, because this is not the case.

As for system failures, they are obviously difficult to predict, but the Tax Agency intends to communicate immediately with its social partners. Perhaps we should consider channels that are sufficiently immediate to communicate to social collaborators what is happening and how to resolve it.

Mr. Alfonso Castro Martínez informs you that if you are referring to the technical problem that occurred at the end of January due to temporary saturation of the equipment, one of the communication channels used was the Telephone Service Centre (CAT), where a message was installed informing all those who called of the error, warning them of the unavailability.  Another means of communication that we have is a Twitter account associated with the Tax Agency, where the incident was also reported in a timely manner, both when it occurred and when it was resolved. We also have various global mechanisms for all taxpayers to whom the incident was obviously reported. However, there is no problem in including Forum members in one of the existing distribution lists to inform them of these incidents.

Mr Eduardo Beut González adds that, from the point of view of the Technical Secretariat of the Forum, it is a very appropriate solution to include the members of the Forum in the protocol that exists for the communication of this type of incident.

Mr. Jesús Fernández-Bravo Pinto, representative of REAF / REGAF, intervenes to request information on the application of the sanctioning regime in relation to form 720. He also mentions that a question has been opened in the European Parliament regarding problems arising from Form 720.

It also indicates that there should be greater coordination between the different departments of the Tax Agency. He cites a specific example in relation to an operation subject to VAT , declared a month after the one in which it was applicable, which has finally led to a sanctioning procedure, but nevertheless the refund that corresponded to the month in which the operation was actually included is taking a long time. It also mentions other specific cases of delays in obtaining refunds.

Mr. Luis María Sánchez González, Director of the Department of Financial and Tax Inspection, states the following: The sanctioning regime in relation to form 720 will be applied in accordance with the terms established by the law and with the application of all the principles established in our Law, which of course excludes automatism in the imposition of sanctions.

Regarding the issue of the European Parliament, the President gives the example of what recently happened with the health tax, where as soon as a court ruling is issued, it is immediately applied by the Tax Agency.

In relation to the aforementioned lack of coordination between departments, he notes that he understands that the Agency works with a fairly high quality index. But it is also true that controls are carried out and as a consequence of these certain unintended damages can be caused.

Mr. Miguel Ángel Ruiz Ayuso, representative of REAF / REGAF, raises the problem that arises in tourist areas where many European pensioners reside who become tax residents in Spain and therefore are required to submit form 720. These people are having serious problems because they do not fully understand these obligations and are leaving Spain.

The president points out that at the Tax Agency we are technicians and we apply the regulations, it is our job. Perhaps a number of issues are being raised that are not within the scope of the Forum. The Tax Agency is dedicated to managing and enforcing the regulations. The Agency's aim is to avoid making mistakes, either in procedures or in administrative acts.

Mr. Luis María Sánchez González adds that in relation to foreigners and especially if we talk about pensioners, they are precisely protected by the law because capital gains proceed unless the new resident can prove that he was not a taxpayer for the tax. That is, the regulations do not affect you if you became a tax resident in Spain at a time after the acquisition of the properties located outside Spain. This should be the general situation for all these people. Therefore, what has been said about all of his assets being affected is not happening at all. They would only be affected by the late submission of Form 720 and by the formal penalty, which is reduced if the submission is late but voluntary. He concludes by pointing out that there are two fundamental safeguard situations: not being a taxpayer for the tax or that we are faced with declared income. If these circumstances occur, there will be no capital gain and, of course, there will be no penalty associated with it.

Mr. Luis María Sánchez González points out that, however, there is a lot of case law and each specific case would have to be analyzed.

The president added that if there are doubts regarding any aspects of Form 720, there is always the option of submitting a binding query to the General Directorate of Taxes.

Mr. José Luis Tonda Martínez intervenes to comment on the problem of certificates of being up to date in compliance with tax obligations, which other Public Administrations obtain directly from the Tax Agency. The problem arises with taxpayers who have requested, for example, a deferral, because for a more or less long period of time the certificate comes out negative even though the deferral has already been granted by the Agency.

He also mentions the problem of the fiscal calendar.

Finally, it refers to the 24h PIN converted into Cl@ve. He points out that employees would need a specific system for them, with which they can request more information.

Ms. Soledad García López, Director of the Collection Department, indicates that the problem with the certificates may arise because there are other entities that issue their certificates of being up to date according to the information contained in our database, which they access directly. So, if in order to provide their certificate of being up to date in order to grant their own subsidy, these entities access the database of the Tax Agency and from the information that results they deduce that according to their regulations the interested party is not up to date with payments, then the question is something that should be raised with these entities.

However, in the specific case raised, it would be ideal to send it in detail so that it can be analyzed and thus offer an appropriate response.

Mr. Rufino de la Rosa indicates, in relation to the problem of the calendar, that the Tax Management Department works together with the Collection Department, always with the intention of making the deadlines as short as possible, but that the Tax Agency in this matter finds itself up against the border of banks and companies that prevent it from shortening the deadlines.

Regarding the 24h PIN and the Cl@ve system, it is noted that these are systems that do not replace RENO, but are rather additional tools. RENO will continue to exist because it is the way for collaborators to download their clients' data and it makes the Income Tax campaign much easier for the Agency. As for the possibility of providing more tax data, that is the line in which we intend to advance with the SII .

Ms. Marta González Álvaro, representative of the Spanish Association of Tax Advisors, raises a specific question regarding Form 390 and the exclusion of its submission for certain groups. The model's Help program mentions that exclusion was mandatory for them, but according to the Ministerial Order, this exclusion is conditional on providing certain information in the 303 of the 4th quarter. He wishes to clarify whether the case of these groups who submit the 303 for the 4th quarter and have not provided this information and have submitted the 390 form as usual would be punishable.

It also raises the question of what should be done if Form 303 has been submitted incompletely.

Mr. Rufino de la Rosa points out that with regard to the first question, no action is being considered by the Tax Agency since non-compliance occurs when something that had to be presented is not presented, but when it is presented additionally even though there was no obligation, it must be understood that we are not facing non-compliance.

Regarding the incomplete presentation of 303, Mr. Rufino de la Rosa indicates that this information would have to be completed, either by presenting an additional 303 or by providing the information.

Mr. Carlos Berrocal Rangel, Representative of the Association of Accounting and Tax Experts, reports that problems have been detected in the month of January for companies that have registered in the Registry of monthly refund of VAT (REDEME) and before the end of the 30th they have taken advantage of the option of deferring VAT on imports.

Mr. Rufino de la Rosa points out that the REDEME is a very beneficial system in which there is a considerable acceleration of refunds and in which the Agency needs to have proof of the company's solvency. This determines that it is not an automatic act, but an act that requires verification. This caution is now even greater due to the implementation of the deferred payment option for VAT on imports.

Ms. Pilar Jurado Borrego, Director of the Department of Customs and Excise Taxes, reports that this incident has occurred because first of all the requirements must be met to be in REDEME and subsequently You can apply the aforementioned option of VAT . In this regard, the Customs Department has informed all those involved, operators and associations, so that everything necessary is done before the end of the year.

The president then addresses those present to remind them that inclusion in REDEME will mean that they will be required to join SII and tells them that in any case the latter is an advantageous system for everyone, in which social collaborators can play a fundamental role by providing service to their clients.

There were no further statements and the meeting was adjourned, with thanks to all participants and the Tax Agency's commitment to work on improving communication channels.