Minutes of the meeting

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PLENARY SESSION OF THE FORUM OF ASSOCIATIONS AND
COLLEGES OF TAX PROFESSIONALS
HELD ON JULY 5, 2022

Secretary of State for Finance and President of the State Agency for Tax Administration

Mr. Jesus Gascon Catalan

President of the Forum of Associations and Colleges of Tax Professionals

Director General of the State Agency for Tax Administration

Ms. Soledad Fernandez Doctor

Members representing the Tax Agency

Director of the Tax Management Department

Mrs. Rosa Maria Prieto del Rey

Director of the Department of Financial and Tax Inspection

Mr. Javier Hurtado Puerta

Director of the Revenue Department

Mr. Guillermo Barros Gallego

Director of the Tax Information Technology Department

Mr. Jose Borja Tome

Director of Legal Services

Mr. Diego Loma-Osorio Lerena

Director of the Planning and Institutional Relations Service

Mr. Ignacio Fraisero Aranguren

Deputy Director General of Management and Intervention of Excise Taxes of the Department of Customs and Excise Taxes

Mr. Vicente Cillero Martinez

Head of the Procedural Support Area of the Financial and Tax Inspection Department

Mr. Marcos Alvarez Suso

Members representing Associations and Colleges

Spanish Association of Tax Advisors

Director of the Study Office

Mr. Arturo Jimenez Contento

Professional Association of Accounting and Tax Experts of Spain

Secretary of the Board of Directors

Mr. José Antonio Fernández García-Moreno

Member of the Board of Directors

Mr. Antonio Ibarra Lopez

General Council of the Spanish Bar Association

Director General of the Council

D. Jose Antonio Perales Gallego

General Council of Colleges of Administrative Managers of Spain

Head of the Tax Department of the General Council

Ms. Pilar Otero Moar

General Council of Official Colleges of Social Graduates of Spain

Member of the Fiscal Affairs Committee

Ms. Alicia Rodriguez Milestones

Spanish Federation of Professional Associations of Tax Technicians and Tax Advisors

Chairperson

Mr. Joan Torres Torres

Second Vice President

Mr. Adolfo Jimenez Ramirez

Office of Administrative Managers and Tax Advisors

Lawyer

Mrs. Raquel Cobos Casero

Registry of Tax Advisors Economists

Member of the Board of Directors

Ms. Esther Luque Sanchez

Technical Secretariat of the Forum of Associations and Colleges of Tax Professionals

Deputy Director General of External Communications of the Planning and Institutional Relations Service

Mrs. Maria Dolores Carreno Beltran

The twenty-first plenary meeting of the Forum of Associations and Colleges of Tax Professionals will be held on July 5, 2022, with the attendance of the persons listed and in accordance with the following:

AGENDA

1. Opening of the session.
2. Approval of the minutes of the meeting held on November 23, 2021.
3. Planning and accountability of the Tax Agency.
4. Information on the topics discussed in the working groups.
5. Projects for the European Presidency 2023.
6. Next call.
7. Other considerations, requests and questions.

1. Session opening

The session is opened by Mr. Jesús Gascón Catalán, President of the State Tax Administration Agency (hereinafter, the Tax Agency), who, after greeting the attendees and thanking them for their presence, comments that this is the first time he has attended the plenary session since his appointment as Secretary of State and that, as on previous occasions, he wishes to reiterate that for the Ministry of Finance and Civil Service and the Tax Agency, it is an objective of utmost interest to continue promoting the cooperative relationship model, in which this Forum plays an important role as an instrument of communication and mutual recognition of the work that both the Administration and its social collaborators are carrying out. On the other hand, Mr. Jesús Gascón added that he would like to welcome to this Forum the recently appointed Director General of the Tax Agency, Ms. Soledad Fernández Doctor, who is undoubtedly known to all those present as she has an extensive professional career in the tax administration. Since 2018, she has been serving as Special Delegate of the Tax Agency in Madrid and, previously, she had been President of the Central Economic-Administrative Court and Director of the Tax Management Department of the Tax Agency, among other positions.

Next, Ms. Soledad Fernández Doctor took the floor and, after greeting those present, pointed out that, in line with what has been done so far, she wishes to highlight the commitment of the institution she represents to continue working so that the model of cooperative relationship between the Administration and tax professionals can become increasingly effective. He added that much progress has been made since the Forum was established in 2011, but that it is undeniable that further progress can be made in this area and that his desire is to ensure that efforts continue to be made in order to achieve new goals.

The Secretary of State for Finance then takes the floor to indicate that in the plenary session, after approving, where appropriate, the minutes of the previous meeting, the Director of the Planning and Institutional Relations Service will present various issues of interest in matters of planning and accountability of the Tax Agency and, subsequently, the persons in charge of the Departments of Tax Management, Collection and Financial and Tax Inspection will present the results and perspectives of the different Working Groups. Mr. Jesús Gascón also added that a brief presentation will be made of the projects related to the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union for the second half of 2023.

2. Approval of the minutes of the meeting held on November 23, 2021

Mr. Jesús Gascón gives the floor to Ms. Mª Dolores Carreño Beltrán, Deputy Director General of External Communication of the Planning and Institutional Relations Service and Technical Secretary of this Forum, who states that the minutes of the twentieth plenary session were sent to the associations and colleges prior to this meeting, and that no comments have been received; He adds that if there were none at this time, it would be definitively approved. Since no objections were raised, the minutes of the 20th plenary session held on 23 November 2021 are hereby approved.

3. Planning and accountability of the Tax Agency

The Secretary of State for Finance then gives the floor to Mr. Ignacio Fraisero Aranguren, Director of the Planning and Institutional Relations Service, to develop this point on the agenda.

Mr. Ignacio Fraisero points out that, before addressing the presentation of the Tax Agency's planning and accountability instruments, he wishes to recall that at the previous plenary session of the Forum it was announced that, in compliance with the commitments assumed by Spain in Component 27 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, a provisional evaluation of the application of Law 11/2021, on measures to prevent and combat tax fraud, was planned to be carried out in the 4th quarter of 2022. He added that the Technical Secretariat will request the collaboration of the entities represented in the Forum so that they can transmit to the Tax Agency their observations on the different measures contained in Law 11/2021, both those that are considered correct and those that are susceptible to improvement and, even, those whose results have not been as expected and which it would be desirable to modify. The report also indicates that these observations and proposals are required before October, since all the information received must then be systematised so that the Government can issue its report. Finally, the Director of the Planning and Institutional Relations Service thanks in advance the collaboration that the associations and colleges will undoubtedly provide in this task and points out that, given that the final evaluation report on the application of Law 11/2021 will be issued in the last quarter of 2023, the Technical Secretariat will once again request such collaboration from the entities represented in the Forum.

Next, Mr. Ignacio Fraisero begins the development of the third point of the agenda, supporting his intervention with a presentation in power point. Thus, it indicates that, as in previous sessions, it wishes to highlight the Tax Agency's commitment to transparency, evident in the publication of the Strategic Plan 2020 - 2023, its Addendum for 2022 and the 2022 Objectives Plan, as well as the results obtained by the organization, collected in separate reports from the Internal Audit Service on the evolution in 2021 of the indicators included in the Strategic Plan 2020 - 2023 and the analysis and evaluation of compliance with the Objectives Plan in 2021, respectively. The Tax Agency also announced that it will begin work on preparing a new strategic plan for the period 2024-2027, given that the current one ends next year. Thus, it points out that, of the main lines of action of the Tax Agency in planning, both strategic and operational, and of the main results obtained by the organization, it wishes to highlight the following:

1. Regarding the Strategic Plan 2020 – 2023, fully in force, and its Addendum, which introduces certain adaptations for 2022 in the Plan:

1.1. Strengthening the focus “behavioural insights: It consists of the use of techniques to analyse taxpayer behaviour in order to facilitate voluntary compliance, minimising involuntary errors. That is to say, when the taxpayer is faced with completing a tax form, he will receive certain warnings aimed at preventing him from making unwanted errors that could subsequently lead to intervention by the Tax Agency.

1.2 Promoting the cooperative relationship model: In 2022, the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Forum and the Forum of Federations and Associations of Self-Employed Workers were established in order to institutionalize the relationship with these groups and have an agile and fluid communication channel, based on transparency and mutual trust, analogous to that existing in this Forum and in the Forum for Large Companies. Thus, within the framework of these Forums, work is being done on the development of separate Codes of Good Tax Practices that will allow the parties to express their commitment to the voluntary fulfillment of tax obligations and promote legal certainty. Two working groups have also been set up, each dedicated to promoting the development of digitalisation projects for these groups, as well as analysing their tax regimes to ensure their adaptation to economic reality.

1.3. Provision of a list of notices and warnings to corporate tax payers that will be generated when preparing Form 200 and that will allow them to correct certain unwanted errors.

1.4. New reporting obligations on virtual currencies, located both in Spain and abroad: established by Law 11/2021, are pending regulatory development.

1.5. E-commerce: The approval by the European Union of the VAT e-Commerce package, which came into force on July 1, 2021, has led to new reporting obligations for digital platforms, as well as a new customs declaration, since the exemption for low-value imports has been eliminated.

1.6. Development of the NIDEL project, aimed at the analysis and detection of money laundering networks: It is a tool that combines criminal network analysis technologies with Big Data , allowing the detection of people with increases in assets of unknown and unjustified origin.

2. Regarding the evolution in 2021 of the seven multiannual indicators of the Strategic Plan 2020 - 2023, the following can be highlighted from the report prepared by the Internal Audit Service:

2.1 Broadening of the tax bases: This indicator aims to assess voluntary compliance by analysing the evolution of the aggregate tax base in comparison with that of nominal domestic demand, since it is considered to be the data that most reliably reflects the country's fiscal behaviour. Thus, since 2016, the aggregate tax bases have shown increases greater than those of nominal domestic demand, with an accumulated differential for the period 2016 - 2021 of 11.8%, having produced an increase of 12.7% in 2021, while the economic magnitude has grown by 8%. However, although these results could be indicative that the Tax Agency's activity is on the right track in meeting the objective of improving voluntary compliance, it must be taken into account that there are other factors that also affect it.

2.2. Measuring induced effects: The Strategic Plan establishes that the effects on voluntary compliance motivated by the actions of the Tax Agency must be measured and evaluated. Thus, comparing the previous and subsequent behaviour of taxpayers subject to an inspection with that of all declarants, it can be seen that the former increased their tax revenues in the following three years to a greater extent than the rest of taxpayers; specifically, for those inspected in 2018, the increase in the net balance of their self-assessments was 23.5%, compared to an increase of 13.1% for all declarants.

2.3. Analysis of the evolution of the calculation base consistent with the improvement in tax compliance: The calculation basis, without taking into account extraordinary results, has maintained stable figures since 2015 (around 8.5 billion euros), although in 2021 it has reached 10.5 billion euros. Typically, as voluntary compliance improves, anti-fraud activities should show stable or declining results. We will therefore have to wait a few years to see whether the medium- and long-term trend returns to normal figures.

2.4. Improve efficiency: This indicator is the quotient resulting from dividing the budget expenditure represented by the Tax Agency by the net tax revenue managed by the organization in a given year. Thus, in 2021, a ratio of less than 0.7% (0.68%) was recovered, in line with previous years, with the exception of 2020, when the pandemic had a significant impact on the activity of the Tax Agency and this indicator reached a ratio of 0.77%.

2.5. Collection – managed debt: This indicator relates the amount of managed debt with respect to the manageable debt in the executive period for a given year. Thus, in 2021 the percentage was 0.92%, in line with what was foreseen in the Strategic Plan (equal to or greater than 0.90%). In addition, the debt suspended due to bankruptcy proceedings has decreased by around 900 million euros compared to 2020, maintaining the trend that has been occurring since 2014. The debt suspended through recourse has decreased by around 500 million euros compared to the previous year.

2.6. Tax conflict: This indicator analyses both the absolute conflict (number of appeals and claims) and the relative conflict (percentage represented by what is appealed or claimed in relation to the total number of administrative acts issued by the Tax Agency). Thus, relative conflicts decreased in 2021, standing at 1.95%, which is a positive result, especially considering that the acts issued by the Tax Agency in 2021 increased by 12%. On the other hand, the number of economic-administrative claims is around 128,000 and the percentage of total or partial estimation is 38%. In the case of administrative appeals, 18,790 have been submitted and the percentage of total or partial approval has been 16%. Furthermore, the report points out that, given the diversity of functions performed by the Tax Agency, the percentages of annulments of the acts issued vary according to the nature of the different acts being appealed, with some areas where the percentage is minimal, such as in census matters, and areas, such as those related to inspection activities, where the percentage is higher.

2.7. Interest paid: Legal regulations impose on the Tax Agency the obligation to pay interest for delays in the processing of refunds and for unfavorable resolutions or sentences that entail an amount to be refunded, as well as for requests for refunds of income made improperly by the taxpayer. Thus, the trend since 2014 has been consistent with the objective set out in the Strategic Plan, since the reduction in the amount of interest paid has been maintained, despite occasional increases in 2019 and 2021.

3. Regarding the analysis and evaluation of compliance with the Objectives Plan in 2021 (operational planning):

3.1. The two objectives that reflect the main contribution of the Tax Agency to the State's non-financial income, gross and net collection, have had a compliance level of 100.9% and 100.7%, respectively. Thus, net tax revenues have been 15.1% higher than in 2020 and, for its part, gross collection has been 11% higher than in the previous year.

3.2. In the rest of the indicators:

3.2.1. In the indicators of taxpayer assistance actions, 100% compliance has been achieved and even exceeded in most of the objectives that make up the first level of the Plan, although with some exceptions, such as the use by users of the Tax Agency app or the collection of electronic contact data.

3.2.2. In the indicators for actions to prevent and control tax and customs fraud, the objective of 100% compliance has also been exceeded in all objectives that make up the first level, except in certain areas affected by health restrictions.

To conclude his speech, Mr. Ignacio Fraisero pointed out that the indicators that measure assistance actions have been reformulated in order to include all the channels through which the Tax Agency provides these services (telephone calls, chat, video calls, virtual assistants, electronic headquarters, etc.), as well as the role played by the ADI (Comprehensive Digital Assistance Administrations). He also added that in-person assistance continues to be a very important objective for the Tax Agency, which is why it will be maintained or even increased, depending on demand.

The Secretary of State for Finance then thanks the Director of the Planning and Institutional Relations Service for his intervention and reiterates that the Tax Agency must work during 2023 on the preparation of a new strategic plan that will continue the current one. He added that the outlook for next year is complicated due, among other reasons, to the fact that Spain will assume the presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2023 and the general elections scheduled in our country. Thus, Mr. Jesús Gascón indicates that the Tax Agency's strategy is reflected in an operational plan focused on the management and control of the tax system, that is, its application, and, given that one of the factors taken into account when preparing the organization's strategic plan is the regulatory one, it is intended to use in its development the final evaluation report on the application of Law 11/2021 that the Government must send to the Commission in the last quarter of 2023. In relation to the latter, he points out that the Administration wishes to produce a comprehensive report, extending it to the General Tax Law and its implementing regulations. He added that a public consultation had been considered, but this had been ruled out because it was very possible that a significant part of the proposals received would not be very productive as they would have more to do with tax reform issues, moving away from the objective of the consultation. However, it indicates that it is very possible that contacts will be established with the members of the Cooperation Forums established by the Tax Agency with different groups (Large Companies, Tax Associations and Professionals, Small and Medium-sized Companies and Self-Employed Workers), as well as with other qualified interlocutors in the procedural aspects of the regulatory framework. Finally, he reiterated that the operational issues included in the evaluation report of Law 11/2021 will undoubtedly serve to improve the Strategic Plan of the Tax Agency.

Mr. Jesús Gascón then offers the floor to those in attendance in case they wish to ask any questions or make any comments.

First to speak was Mr. Antonio Ibarra López, representative of the Professional Association of Accounting and Tax Experts (AECE), who, after greeting the participants in the plenary session and congratulating the recently appointed persons, points out that in relation to conflicts and appeals he wishes to reflect on “immaterial defencelessness”, since there are a series of acts that are not appealed because their cost is higher than the amount being settled. Thus, he comments on the case of a client who for years had been deducting only 50% of the VAT on his vehicle's fuel, that is, he took into account the issue of presumption, and At a given moment, the management bodies, without assessing whether the vehicle was used for the activity or not, regularize said deduction by eliminating it, and the result is a payment of 200 euros. When the matter reaches the advisor's hands, the recommendation, given the amount, is generally to pay it and not appeal, which can sometimes lead to the client abandoning their services or, at the very least, create a certain atmosphere of mistrust. Mr. Antonio Ibarra adds that the Administration is fully aware of these situations, which are not few, since there are thousands, and that, on the other hand, the absence of recourse allows the Tax Agency to present percentages of conflict that do not increase and are even reduced. Finally, the AECE representative calls for greater sensitivity on the part of the tax management bodies in their daily activities.

Mr. Jesús Gascón responds that statistics are large volumes of aggregated data and that the trend is very important for the Tax Agency, since if they reflect an increase in conflict, the problem would not only be for the managing Administration, but also for the auditing Administration and, ultimately, for the courts of justice. On the other hand, he points out that, regarding the issue of settlements for small amounts, it must be taken into account that Spain is a middle-class country, with a very high number of salaried and self-employed workers, so these amounts have a significant impact on tax collection. He added that he agrees that an Administration that focuses on these types of taxpayers and on this type of alleged non-compliance does not seem very efficient, and that it is certainly not the priority of the Tax Agency. However, he points out that sending the message that the Administration is focused on regularisations of high amounts is something very dangerous that must be avoided, and that is why limits are sometimes adjusted and the amounts to be taken into account in the actions are reduced. On the other hand, Mr. Jesús Gascón reiterates that the important thing to achieve progress in the cooperative relationship model is to specify the problems that arise in order to analyze them together and try to find a solution. In this regard, the joint initiative of the Taxpayer Protection Council and the Institute of Fiscal Studies is gaining prominence. In this regard, the initiative, commissioned by the State Secretariat for Finance, created a forum for debate in 2021, especially aimed at people who perform tax advisory functions, where, from a technical point of view, the main problems that arise in the application of the tax system are analyzed. He adds that the forum sessions are also attended by renowned professionals invited by the IEF depending on the presentations to be discussed, and the aim of these is to reach, in a calm and rigorous environment, conclusions that can be accepted by consensus, without prejudice to the inclusion of any nuances that are considered necessary and even to limiting themselves to noting the existence of conflicting positions and, therefore, disagreement. On the other hand, Mr. Jesús Gascón points out that, as regards conflict in general, it would be interesting to have in the working groups of this Forum the participation of representatives not only from the General Directorate of Taxes, but also from the Council for the Defense of the Taxpayer or the economic-administrative courts, since, from the State Secretariat, a significant part of the litigation is being analyzed, which is characterized by presenting recurring patterns and which, in addition, imply an overload of work; For example, there are cases in which an administrative criterion is not shared by the public and is contested en masse, sometimes giving rise to a high number of estimates by the economic-administrative courts. Thus, in these situations, as a practical and effective solution, what is known in legal terms as a "witness trial" could be used, avoiding a lot of repetitive and sterile work for all the affected parties. Finally, Mr. Jesús Gascón points out that it is necessary to continue to delve deeper into the avenues and tools that allow progress to be made in reducing conflict.

Next, Mr. Arturo Jiménez Contento, representative of the Spanish Association of Tax Advisors (AEDAF), comments that he seems to understand that the data being offered is based on the total acts of the Tax Agency and, in light of the affirmative response from the Secretary of State for Finance, points out that an important nuance to take into account is that the percentage of conflicts would be much higher if it were focused on the liquidation acts of the management and inspection area.

Mr. Jesús Gascón replies that, indeed, the data is based on the total number of acts issued by the Tax Agency, although this year the acts of the customs area had been excluded from the calculation because the elimination of the exemption for low-value goods had meant a significant increase in them that would distort the information presented. He added that the report, which will be published shortly, contains the percentages of conflicts broken down by functional areas. He also indicated that at the plenary session of the Large Business Forum held in June, questions were raised about the case of the minutes and, in particular, those of disagreement. At the meeting it was reported that the latter represented 20% of the total number of signed minutes and that around 5% of them were subject to total or partial annulment. On the other hand, the Secretary of State for Finance comments that efforts are being made to focus on the issues and areas that generate the greatest conflict and that, therefore, work is being done to make the information systems of the Tax Agency and the economic-administrative courts compatible, so that data analysis can be improved.

Next, Ms. Esther Luque Sánchez, representative of the Registry of Tax Economists and Advisors (REAF), takes the floor. After apologising for the absence of Mr. Agustín Fernández Pérez, President of REAF, who was prevented from attending the plenary session due to other obligations, she points out that the number of requests from the tax management area has recently increased, as well as the depth of these requests and the amount of information that must be provided to meet them, something that is resulting in an increase in the workload of tax professionals. He adds that, however, to highlight something positive about the increase in this type of action by the Tax Agency, it is possible that they have an educational effect in the medium and long term on taxpayers, regarding the importance of documentary requirements. Finally, Ms. Esther Luque indicates that, as regards obtaining face-to-face appointments, there are many delays in the service, and that, as regards the resolution of the files, at least in Madrid, they have noticed an improvement with a noticeable increase in the speed of resolution.

Ms. Rosa María Prieto informs you that, in relation to the requirements, the Tax Management Department, within the framework of its powers, is carrying out more exhaustive checks and with a higher level of self-demand, in order to improve the quality of the review activities carried out. On the other hand, regarding in-person appointments, the Tax Agency notes that it monitors the service with the aim of ensuring that all offices meet certain standards for access to it, so that they provide reasonable deadlines that allow both citizens and tax professionals to comply, of course, with those established by the regulations (for allegations, study of the file, etc.). He added that this is a particularly important issue that will be subject to analysis and more detailed monitoring until the end of the year and that, without ruling out the possibility that a specific problem may occur at some place or time, the organisation's intention is to work to ensure that these are very exceptional cases.

Ms. Esther Luque intervenes again to point out that there is a profile of taxpayers who feel neglected, since they are more comfortable when they are attended to in person, even if it is to argue, and that they miss the human warmth in their dealings with the Tax Agency.

The Secretary of State for Finance then intervenes to indicate that due to an urgent matter he has to leave the meeting for the moment and that he will try to rejoin it before it ends.

Ms. Soledad Fernández Doctor then took the floor to emphasize that the Tax Agency will continue to promote information and assistance services, adapted to the different types of taxpayers, an area of activity to which the organization has been devoting significant efforts for many years and in which significant progress has been made, although, of course, there is room for further improvement. She reiterates that, as the Director of the Tax Management Department has pointed out, work is being done on a very comprehensive project to improve the information and assistance services provided by the Tax Agency and adds that, as soon as it is developed, the associations and colleges that are members of the Forum will be involved in order for them to make their proposals, which will undoubtedly be very useful.

Since there were no further interventions, the President of the Forum gave way to the next item on the agenda.

4. Information on the topics discussed in the working groups

The Director General of the Tax Agency then points out that the Forum's working groups met together on 18 May and, in order for the working groups in the Tax Management Department to comment on their activities, she gives the floor to its Director.

Ms. Rosa María Prieto indicates that the meeting addressed the 2021 Corporate Tax campaign, as usual. He adds that one of the objectives of the Tax Agency in relation to this campaign, as with the IRPF campaign, is to anticipate, as far as possible, the assistance services provided during it. The following issues were highlighted at the meeting:

• that the ministerial order approving the models had been published on May 4;

• that the Corporate Tax manual was available on the Tax Agency's electronic headquarters since May 6;

• that the tax data would be available on June 23.

Regarding this last point, the Director of the Tax Management Department adds that this is the third year that this information has been offered, each time with a higher quality in terms of the data provided, and that this initiative has been well received by those obliged to file taxes.

Likewise, Ms. Rosa María Prieto indicates that, as regards the model, it was commented that it did not present any important novelties in the exercise and a succinct exposition of the most significant modifications was made, such as those affecting the exemption on dividends and income derived from the transfer of securities (art. 21 LIS ) or the deduction for investments in cinematographic productions (arts. 36 and 39 LIS ), among others.

On the other hand, the Director of the Tax Management Department points out that, at the request of the associations and colleges, the following issues had been discussed at the meeting:

• IRPF 2021 campaign and duplication in the tax data of the subsidies received by people affected by ERTE : Representatives of the Tax Administration Department indicated that the information regarding the subsidies came from forms 190 and 347 and from the National Subsidy Database. It was clarified at the meeting that the data was only automatically transferred to the declaration as work income if its origin was form 190, since in the other two cases the program asked the taxpayer if they wanted to transfer the information, having to indicate whether it was as work income or if the subsidy was linked to a self-employed activity. In addition, he was advised that he should review the data in order to avoid duplication in its incorporation.

• Supplementary declarations of IRPF for the perception of arrears of work income from previous years: The schools and associations pointed out that filing supplementary declarations was very inconvenient, since the taxpayer had to go to the bank in order to obtain the NRC . They therefore requested that the possibility of direct debit be included for these additional payments. For their part, the representatives of the Tax Agency responded that for 2021, the additional taxes submitted within the deadline could be domiciled. It was also reported that, however, the law did not provide for this possibility for late declarations, and that technically the banking entities could not assume it.

Ms. Esther Luque then intervened to point out that, in relation to the additional declarations motivated by delays in remuneration from previous years, sometimes such small amounts have to be included that, in the end, these declarations are not submitted. Please add whether it would not be possible to implement a solution that, without causing financial harm to the Administration, would somehow allow these amounts to be incorporated into the declaration for the current year.

Ms. Rosa María Prieto replies that one of the problems is that the supplementary declaration for a financial year has to be prepared in accordance with the regulations in force for that year. He adds that it is a complex issue and that, technically, there is no simple solution.

The REAF representative takes the floor again to ask whether the Tax Agency is aware of the amounts that are not paid due to the failure to file supplementary declarations for small amounts, to which the Director of the Tax Management Department replies that, at the moment, no specific analysis has been carried out. Furthermore, he added that these amounts are subject to adjustment in the verification procedures that are usually carried out by the tax management bodies.

Since there were no further interventions, Ms. Soledad Fernández Doctor gave the floor to Mr. Guillermo Barros Gallego, Director of the Collection Department.

Mr. Guillermo Barros begins his speech by indicating that at the meeting of the working groups, at the request of the associations and colleges, the following issues in the area of his Department were discussed:

• As regards the extension of the deadlines for direct debiting of self-assessments, the Director of the Tax Collection Department points out that numerous requests have been received in this regard, but that the problem lies in the number of collaborating entities. He added that, however, this request has been forwarded to them so that they can analyse whether it would be possible to reduce the time they need to process the direct debits. Also related to this issue, the associations and schools had requested to adapt the fiscal calendar to the working calendar and, at the meeting, the representative of the Tax Collection Department asked them to send their proposals for the year 2023 as soon as possible, in order to be able to analyze them. Finally, the extension of the deadline for filing self-assessments had also been raised, to which the response was that this was not a matter within the jurisdiction of the Tax Agency, but that it would be transferred to the competent body.

• An incident in the management of deferrals had been included in the agenda, since when they were requested, other outstanding debts could appear and, even if proof of payment of these was provided and it was proven that the only outstanding debt was the one that was being requested to be deferred, the denial was issued automatically, without reviewing the documentation provided. The social collaborators requested the creation of a communication channel with the collection department. Thus, the Tax Agency reported that the functionality was up and running and the NRC was being debugged. on line in order to achieve automation between payments made by citizens and information from the Tax Agency, as well as ensuring that certificates of being up to date with payments were already updated and no supporting documents had to be provided. Likewise, Mr. Guillermo Barros points out that on July 4, a new feature was added to the Tax Agency app that introduces greater clarity regarding the most common procedures in the collection area, allowing, with practically three clicks, to consult, pay and defer debts.

The Director General of the Tax Agency then took the floor to underline that the new functionality incorporated into the app represents a major advance in information and assistance services, as it allows citizens, from their mobile phone, to find out what their debts are, select the ones they want and pay them or request deferrals of them.

Mr. Guillermo Barros then reiterated that with this initiative, a new service has been incorporated into the app for requesting deferrals, consulting and paying debts in a quick, simple way and without time restrictions, so that taxpayers can save time and travel when carrying out the most common procedures in the tax collection field. He adds that, of course, they are also available online. Thus, in relation to the new functionality, it indicates that, once the user chooses the option that encompasses the entire service ("Pay, defer and consult debts"), in a first navigation level three large differentiated accesses appear that correspond to the three groups of procedures stated in the general access to the service. The Director of the Tax Collection Department thus highlights the following issues:

• Pay debts: It offers the possibility of making a one-step payment of all outstanding debts, of those you wish to make, or of partial payment of any of them, as well as payment in compliance with embargo proceedings when you are not the debtor. Payments can be made:

  • by direct debit from bank account: The field for the IBAN appears filled with the latest account available at the Tax Agency. Supports the ability to edit the field and modify the debit account;

  • by credit card: In this case, the user must fill in the corresponding field with the data.

• Debt deferrals: The procedure is very similar to paying debts, appearing a checkbox where you can select, from those existing, the debt whose deferral you wish to manage. Thus, the granting of the deferral is instantaneous in cases exempt from providing collateral, which, on the other hand, are the majority.

• Query of outstanding debts, in whole or in part, and of payments that have already been made: By selecting this option you can access all the detailed and detailed information that consists of them, by selecting the link of the debt or payment itself.

• Obtaining certificates of being up to date with payments: The payment facilities are accompanied by the option of issuing the certificate, in certain cases, without further formalities. Thus, a button has been included for certificate requests and by clicking on it, a pre-filled form is accessed, where the user must complete certain fields to finalize the request. This is a highly sought-after service, especially considering the current situation, where the certificate is necessary to obtain the different aids that are being implemented.

Next, Ms. Soledad Fernández Doctor offers the floor to those in attendance in case they wish to make any queries or comments about the new functionality incorporated into the Tax Agency app.

First, Ms. Esther Luque intervenes to ask whether the seized amounts are included in the query on outstanding balances, to which Mr. Guillermo Barros answers that work is being done to include this information in a more immediate manner, but that it is a complex issue, since there is a time period, set in the seizure diligence, between the moment in which the seizure is carried out and the moment in which the information reaches the Tax Agency and can be applied to a specific debt.

Next, Mr. Joan Torres Torres, representative of the Spanish Federation of Professional Associations of Tax Technicians and Tax Advisors (FETTAF), takes the floor to, first of all, congratulate Ms. Soledad Fernández Doctor on her appointment as General Director of the Tax Agency. He added that he would also like to thank the Administration for its efforts to resolve some of the issues that tax professionals have been repeatedly requesting for some time. On the other hand, he asks if the fact of making a payment and immediately obtaining the certificate of being up to date has to do with the implementation of the NRC on line and with what the Administration calls “in-flight income”.

Mr. Guillermo Barros answers that, indeed, the Tax Agency calls them “income in flight” because what it is managing is the information provided by the collaborating entity, even if the money paid by the taxpayer has not reached the bank account. In this way, the taxpayer obtains proof of payment and the Administration can issue a certificate confirming that he or she is up to date with his or her tax obligations. On the other hand, regarding the NRC on line He points out that the Tax Information Technology Department is working to ensure that it can be implemented by the end of the year.

Mr. Joan Torres also comments on the issue of excessive restrictions, which was raised at the meeting of the working groups with some examples of specific cases that had occurred and the importance of the damage they caused to the taxpayer.

The Director of the Tax Collection Department points out that this is one of the areas in which further progress must be made, so that the amounts seized are adjusted as far as possible to the outstanding debts.

The FETTAF representative takes the floor again to reiterate the request already made in this Forum in relation to the unification of the deadline for submitting the declarations that must be made in the month of January, extending it until the 30th.

Ms. Rosa María Prieto replies that, as has already been pointed out on previous occasions, this is not the responsibility of the Tax Agency, nor even of the State Secretariat for Finance, since the deadlines for submitting declarations are closely related to budgetary issues that affect tax collection and which have to do with the deadlines within which certain obligations must be met, such as the repayment of debt or the payment of interest. However, he said that the request would be forwarded to the competent body again.

Finally, Mr. Joan Torres comments that the two traditional requests in this Forum are the extension of the deadline for domiciling self-assessments and the extension of the deadline for submitting the declarations for the 4th quarter until the 30th, since in January it must be taken into account that the first week of the month, in many offices, coincides with staff vacations. He also added that the extension of the deadline for submitting Form 347 until the end of February has been a step forward in this regard, which has helped to ease the congestion in January, making the work of social collaborators easier.

Mr Antonio Ibarra then took the floor to comment on the effort that tax professionals had had to make to file their self-assessments for the first quarter due to the fact that it had coincided with public holidays. He also reiterated that, although the deadlines for filing quarterly self-assessments in 2023 are good, it is important that the tax calendar adapts to the labour calendar; He added that, in this sense, it would contribute to this if the deadline for submitting the declarations for the 4th quarter was unified, extending it until the 30th of the month.

Ms. Soledad Fernández Doctor replied that the Tax Agency is aware of the claims made by the associations and schools and that it will be forwarded to the competent body.

Then, since there were no further interventions, the President of the Forum gave the floor to Mr. Javier Hurtado Puerta so that he could comment on the issues in the area of inspection that were discussed in the working groups.

Mr. Javier Hurtado points out that he will present, in general terms, the issue raised by the representatives of the Department of Financial and Tax Inspection at the joint meeting of the working groups, which took place on May 18, in relation to the status of the Royal Decree approving the regulation establishing the requirements to be adopted by the computer systems and programs that support the billing processes of entrepreneurs and professionals, and the standardization of billing record formats. It also indicates that the regulation develops the modifications established by Law 11/2021, on the prevention and fight against tax fraud, in Law 58/2003, of December 17, General Tax Law (articles 29.2.j and 201 bis), and clarifies that some of the modifications introduced are in force by themselves, without the need for regulatory development. Thus, Mr. Javier Hurtado adds that he wishes to highlight the following issues:

• Regulatory status: The public consultation process has been completed and is awaiting the opinion of the Council of State.

• Contextualization: Although the main objective of the regulation is the elimination of dual-use in compliance with component 27 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, two other reasons must be noted that have been present in the drafting of its articles:

  • On the one hand, advance citizen assistance services since the regulation has included the voluntary possibility for the taxpayer to send their invoices to the Administration, so that, when they subsequently have to complete a declaration VAT or direct taxes, the Tax Agency provides you with the data derived from the documents provided, even with the corrections caused by the information provided by third parties.

  • Likewise, contribute to the provisions of component 13 regarding the commitment of public administrations to promote the modernization of the Spanish business fabric through the digitalization of SMEs, helping to increase their efficiency (digital kit).

    In relation to this point, Mr. Javier Hurtado points out that the establishment of a common electronic invoicing standard for all professionals and business owners would allow them to communicate and exchange invoices and documents with each other automatically through their computer systems, as well as with their suppliers and other persons or organisations with whom they interact (clients, financial institutions, Administration, etc.), helping to reduce certain management costs. In other words, standardisation would favour interoperability by facilitating communications between the different agents involved, while at the same time introducing a simplification in the procedures with the Administration, promoting the security and safety of information between all the people involved.

• Essential content of the Royal Decree:

  • It does not alter billing obligations. Thus, taxpayers subject to the immediate information supply system ( SII ) and certain simplified regimes, as well as those who are excluded from the invoicing obligation, are exempt from complying with the requirements established in the regulation.

  • It establishes the way in which computerized billing systems must comply with the legal requirements of integrity, conservation, accessibility, legibility, traceability and inalterability of records.

  • It requires that systems have the capacity to automatically send information, although such sending is not mandatory. This requirement will make it easier for taxpayers to provide documentation in response to requests made by the Administration. This requirement has also been included in anticipation of future regulatory changes that extend the obligation to automatically submit information to all taxpayers.

  • It enables clients and consumers to participate in the process of verifying the integrity of their suppliers' billing system, being able to compare the invoices they receive on the Tax Agency's electronic site with the information provided by their supplier, if the latter has sent it. It will be implemented by entering a code  QR on invoices and tickets.

  • The certification of the software is carried out through the responsible declaration of manufacturers or developers, which states that the computer system complies with the provisions of article 29.2.j) of the General Tax Law and its regulations and ministerial order of development. The certificate must be provided to the purchasers of the software in writing, included in the computer system itself, where it must be visible and kept for the entire limitation period. Thus, the responsibility for compliance with the requirements falls on the producers of the software .

  • The regulation stipulates that entrepreneurs and professionals must have their computer systems adapted to the new requirements by July 1, 2024, and that, for their part, producers of software have nine months from the approval of the ministerial development order to offer their clients billing systems that guarantee compliance with the legal requirements.

Ms. Soledad Fernández Doctor then thanks the Director of the Department of Financial and Tax Inspection for his presentation and offers the floor to those in attendance who wish to make any queries or comments.

Mr. Joan Torres points out that he agrees with what has been said regarding the fact that in the future computer systems for the automated submission of information will be extended to all groups, which leads him to consider that, if the taxpayer sends their invoices directly to the Tax Agency, the role of tax professionals may be diminished if they do not have access to them. He clarifies that he is not referring to tax advisory functions, which would not be affected, but to the completion and filing of tax returns. The FETTAF representative therefore asks what the situation is for social partners and whether they will have access to invoices that their clients send automatically to the Administration.

Mr. Javier Hurtado points out that, indeed, the tax advisor may access invoices on behalf of third parties, with prior authorization from the client. He adds that, in any case, it must be taken into account that, although the aim of the Tax Agency is to make invoicing systems as simple as possible, they always present a certain technical complexity, so there is the possibility of hiring third parties to comply with the obligation to issue invoices on behalf of the taxpayer. He also reiterated that the regulation he had been commenting on only refers to invoices issued, meaning that the Tax Agency, in relation to a specific taxpayer, will only have access to the invoices issued by its suppliers if they have decided to send them to the Administration. In other words, the information held by the Tax Agency will be more complete and more useful as the number of taxpayers who automatically send the invoices they issue increases. On the other hand, the Director of the Department of Financial and Tax Inspection comments that in the hypothetical case that all taxpayers sent the invoices issued to the Tax Agency, and the Administration could return all that information through an assistance service, it would be necessary to have take into account that, if the preparation of, for example, a draft of Personal Income Tax of an employed worker presents a degree of difficulty, in the case of a person with an activity on your own account it rises quite a bit, and it goes without saying what would happen in the case of a draft VAT , a tax whose completion, in general, is very complex.

Next, Ms. Rosa María Prieto reiterates that, indeed, in the hypothetical case commented by the person in charge of the Inspection Department in which the Administration managed to provide the taxpayer with a draft of VAT from Of all the invoices that have been sent to you, their review will always be necessary in terms of qualification of the taxable events, VAT rates , tax deductions, etc. Thus, he adds that this situation would be analogous to that of the implementation of the SII , where social collaborators have continued to provide their services to taxpayers subject to this system.

Next, Mr. José Borja Tomé, Director of the Tax Information Technology Department, intervened to point out that the information collected by the Tax Agency as a result of the automated submission of invoices by taxpayers will consist of aggregated information that, although it can be used in the preparation of some type of draft, could not by itself configure a declaration, and it would be necessary to subsequently carry out a task that is truly important, the fiscal task, which has to do with the qualification of taxable events and other issues discussed in relation to taxes. The head of the Tax Information Technology Department adds that the aim of the Tax Agency is to ensure that the greatest number of business owners and professionals submit their invoices, which will facilitate the work of tax professionals as it will free them from the task of recording their clients' invoices, avoiding unwanted errors, and will allow them to access them electronically and without having to wait for the client to provide them. Finally, Mr. José Borja points out that the Administration and social collaborators are in the same boat in this project and that it is important for the Tax Agency that tax professionals can access all the information from the outset, to the extent that the client authorizes them, given the importance of the role they play in the functioning of the tax system.

Ms. Soledad Fernández Doctor then informed that the progress made in the processing of the regulation would be communicated to the members of the Forum, given its importance not only for the tax authorities, but also for tax professionals.

Since there were no further interventions, the President of the Forum then moved on to the next item on the agenda.

5. Projects for the European Presidency 2023

Ms. Soledad Fernández Doctor comments that, as is known to all those present, Spain will assume the presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2023. She adds that at this time there are numerous projects in process at the community level that could be discussed under the Spanish presidency. Thus, she indicates that next Mr. Marcos Álvarez Suso, Head of the Procedural Support Area of the Financial and Tax Inspection Department, and Mr. Vicente Cillero Martínez, Deputy Director General of Management and Intervention of Special Taxes of the Customs and II. EE. Department, will report on the initiatives in process at the European level.

Mr. Macos Álvarez Suso begins his presentation by indicating that Spain will assume the presidency of the Council of the European Union after the presidencies of the Czech Republic and Sweden and that, given that these countries have their preferences in relation to the existing projects in process, it is unknown which of them will still be pending in the second half of 2023 or whether there will even be new proposals or if any of those currently in existence will have been discarded. He also pointed out that the Spanish presidency, in addition to being a short one, coinciding with the summer period, is the last one before the elections to the European Parliament, and that the Commission has therefore already informed Spain that, given the political uncertainty caused by the result of the elections, it will try to promote a significant number of the initiatives that are underway. The Head of the Procedural Support Area thus indicates that he will make a brief presentation on the files on taxation that are currently being processed and that, next, Mr. Vicente Cillero will report on those relating to energy taxation and the carbon border adjustment mechanism, and that those relating to the Customs area will be excluded because the Department plans to present them in another framework.

Mr Marcos Álvarez then commented that for Spain assuming the European presidency represents an enormous challenge and requires a great effort in material and human resources, but that, although the European legislative initiative in tax matters corresponds to the Commission, it also provides the country with a certain opportunity to promote those files in which it is most interested. Thus, it reiterates that at this time there is great uncertainty regarding the projects that will be processed under the Spanish presidency of the EU and, with the support of a presentation in power point , outlines the main aspects of some of the proposals that currently exist, clarifying that not in all cases there is a regulatory project from the Commission:

1 In direct taxation:

• Pillar II: The proposed Directive is under discussion at OECD level and its objective is to guarantee a minimum tax rate (15%) for the global activities of large multinational groups. The debate is about harmonizing a common set of rules on how to calculate this effective tax rate, so that it is applied correctly and consistently across the EU . Under the French presidency, which has just ended, the project has received a strong push, but due to the unanimity rule required in Europe for approving tax-related projects, it is currently subject to political blockage. Likewise, subject to the approval of Pillar II, three initiatives stand out:

  • Annual publication of the effective corporate tax rate of certain large companies with operations in the EU : The proposal will be submitted once the Pillar II Directive has been approved.

  • Recast of the Interest and Fees Directive: The approval of Pillar II could pave the way for the approval of the recast Directive, which has been in the Council since 2011 and whose objective is to make the benefits contemplated therein conditional on the interest being subject to tax in the destination State.

  • Pillar I: There is no European regulatory proposal yet. It gives market jurisdictions the right to tax part of the profits of certain non-resident companies, providing for the reallocation of a portion of these global profits among jurisdictions where the group has customers or users, using an agreed formula.

• Amendment to the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC 8): Although there is no regulatory proposal yet, this initiative aims to establish transparency rules that guarantee tax authorities information that allows them to identify taxpayers active in new means of exchange, particularly cryptoassets and electronic money.

• Shell entities: The proposed Directive sets out parameters that will help Member States to detect companies that appear to be engaged in an economic activity but which lack minimum substance and are used to obtain tax advantages. Furthermore, if this proposal does not obtain unanimous agreement, the European Commission announced in May that it would present a new legislative initiative at the end of the year that would regulate the profession of tax advisors and their commitment to not use this type of entity, although there is still no other additional reference to this proposal.

• DEBRA: In order to correct the tax-induced debt bias in a coordinated manner throughout the single market, this proposal for a Directive lays down rules to provide, under certain conditions, for the tax deductibility of notional interest on increases in equity and to limit the tax deductibility of excess borrowing costs.

• Framework for corporate income taxation in Europe (Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation o BEFIT): It would be a single corporate tax rule for the EU , based on the characteristics of a common tax base and a proration formula for the distribution of profits between Member States. Furthermore, although there is no regulatory proposal yet, it will be based on the progress of global discussions in which these concepts are already present, through the use of a formula for partial redistribution of profits in Pillar I, and common rules for calculating the tax base for the purposes of applying Pillar II.

• Common withholding tax method: The objective of this initiative, which does not yet have a regulatory proposal, would be the introduction of a common system at the level of the EU for withholding at source on dividends or interest payments to non-residents. This will involve the establishment of a system that will allow tax authorities to exchange information and cooperate with each other, as well as improving tax residency certificates for these purposes, facilitating and streamlining the management of refunds to non-residents.

• Code of Conduct: There is a working group dedicated to the study of tax measures that cause harmful tax competition between Member States, as well as to the preparation and updating every six months of the list of non-cooperative third countries and territories, examining defensive measures in a coordinated manner at European Union level.

2 In indirect taxation:

• The VAT in the digital age: It is the flagship project of the European Union, although there is still no proposal. It is based on:

  • the establishment throughout the European Union of a homogeneous system for the immediate provision of real-time information, something similar to the Spanish SII which already exists in other countries such as Italy and Hungary;

  • the review of the tax regime of electronic platforms, harmonizing intermediation in the provision of services, especially in the tourist accommodation and people transportation sectors, rethinking both the material standard of exemptions and others, as well as the possibility that these platforms were the obligated to pay VAT instead of the underlying provider;

  • the extension of the European one-stop shop to all cases not currently covered, given its positive impact on increasing tax revenue and reducing costs.

• The VAT in the tourism sector: This project is of special interest to Spain, given the importance of the tourism industry in our country. The Commission's aim is to standardise certain aspects related to this sector and to propose a review of various issues relating to certain regimes, such as:

  • The special regime for travel agencies is not applied uniformly in the Member States and, in addition, in Spain it is established that it can be waived on a transaction-by-operation basis, an issue that is highly debated at European level;

  • improve the refund regime for travellers not resident in the European Union, as well as the regime applicable to duty-free shops;

  • Also, review the rules for taxing passenger transport.

• The European Commission is considering promoting a dispute resolution mechanism between Member States in order to avoid situations of double taxation in VAT . Thus, in direct taxation there are very clear mechanisms to correct double taxation, but in VAT , as the directive is harmonized and there are common rules, it was initially thought that this could not occur. problem. However, reality has shown that it does exist and that, furthermore, it is a growing problem. Therefore, the Commission's idea is to promote a system that in some way forces all Member States that intend to collect the VAT quota for the same operation to reach an agreement.

• Definitive regime in VAT : The Commission's idea is to implement the principle of taxation at destination for intra-Community operations between businesses, maximising the use of a one-stop shop, so that operators can interact with a single Administration, through which they would submit all their self-assessments.

To conclude his presentation, Mr. Marcos Álvarez comments that the last project he referred to has already been discussed previously on different occasions; He added that it remains to be seen whether the debates on the Commission's proposal will achieve a certain degree of unanimity this time.

Next, Mr. Vicente Cillero takes the floor and indicates that, with regard to community emissions, we must first remember the European Green Pact that the current Commission published in 2019 and which serves as a framework for “Objective 55”, which includes a package of measures that basically consist of reducing emissions into the atmosphere by 55% in 2030, compared to 1990, and making the European Union a decarbonised economy, so that emissions into the atmosphere are neutral, that is, it captures as many emissions as it produces. The representative of the Customs and Excise Department adds that this cross-cutting initiative of the European Union aimed at achieving climate objectives conditions many aspects of community policies, highlighting the following:

1 Review of the Energy Products and Electricity Directive: There is already a proposal dated 14 July 2021 which recasts the current Directive dating from 2003. It should be noted that the latter had a gestation period of around 10 years and that the previous proposal for revision was put forward by the Commission in 2011, but was shelved in 2015 due to a lack of agreement between the Member States. Thus, it is necessary to highlight the complexity presented by the new regulatory initiative of the Commission since it basically affects energy, which is a input esencial de cualquier economía, y que, además, cada país ha adoptado un mix different energy, conditioned by taxation. The Commission's new proposal thus has the following objectives:

• Adapt the taxation of energy products to the European Green Deal, contributing to the reduction of emissions into the atmosphere by 2030 and to decarbonisation by 2050.

• To standardise the Directive in order to contribute to the Single Market, by removing exemptions and establishing derogations for certain issues existing in the accession agreements of some Member States to the European Union.

• Increase your revenue-raising potential.

On the other hand, the general lines of the review of energy taxation are the following:

• Energy products will be taxed based on their environmental performance, determined by their net calorific value, i.e. what determines the taxation of a product will be its energy efficiency, established in accordance with European environmental regulations that regulate both the energy efficiency of products and their obtaining from renewable sources.

• The list of products covered by the Directive has been extended to include ethyl alcohol, hydrogen and ammonia. Thus, the proposal has an extensive and comprehensive aim, covering all products that are an energy source for consumption by people, companies, etc.

• Minimum rates are set by establishing a ranking among energy products according to their use, such that for each of the products that have a certain use in industry or in homes, a tax rate is established which, subsequently, has to be averaged by its net calorific value. Thus, this type of tax must be applied to any product intended for that particular use, regardless of the product in question. At the same time, it is established that if a Member State wants to increase the taxation of a certain product, it would also have to increase the taxation of any other product used for the same purpose, that is, the tax capacity of the Member States will be limited to a certain extent by what is established in the Directive regarding the purposes of the products and the tax rates. In addition, minimum tax rates must be respected by all member countries, which will result in an increase in them.

• Minimum rates will be indexed to a consumer price trend index, so that they do not become outdated due to the effect of inflation.

• The exemption for intra-Community air and sea navigation is eliminated, with some exceptions for the transport of goods.

• The possibility is envisaged for Member States to apply exemptions on environmental grounds.

• Member States will be able to introduce reductions for environmental or social reasons, while respecting Community minimum rates.

2 Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism: The European Union has had an emissions trading scheme since 2003, through which the electricity, cement, etc. industries They must acquire certificates that allow them to emit into the atmosphere. Because such acquisitions make production more expensive, many companies have preferred to relocate and produce these products in countries outside the European Union, where environmental legislation is not as committed to curbing the effects of climate change. The new border adjustment mechanism is therefore intended to eliminate these carbon leaks, that is, to somehow adjust at the border what would be paid within the European Union for emission rights with respect to what has not been paid outside.

The most notable issues of the proposal are the following:

• It affects imports of carbon-intensive products: cement, aluminum, fertilizers, electricity, iron and steel.

• The mechanism is applied in parallel to the European Union's emissions trading system, and its operation, in practice, means that the importer of these products must be registered in a community register and must report the imports of these products within the first three months after the calendar year, while acquiring the certificates that allow them to make the emissions.

• The project is well advanced and at the ECOFIN meeting of 15 March 2022 an agreement was reached on the final text which now has to continue with its Community processing. The regulation to be approved is a regulation that applies directly to all Member States.

3 Future files: The Commission has announced that it will make two new proposals on the following matters:

• Review of the Tobacco Products Directive, as new products have appeared on the market in recent years (heated tobacco, electronic cigarettes, etc.) and Member States have adopted different solutions in relation to them. The Commission is expected to make a Community proposal at the end of 2022 to harmonise the issue, establishing a common treatment for all Member States.

• Review of the horizontal directive on Community chemicals (tobacco, alcohol and hydrocarbons), although the date on which the Commission will make its proposal is not yet known, although it is expected to be at the end of 2022 or beginning of 2023. Basically, it will consist of clarifying and reducing the quantity of products that can be circulated from one Member State to another purchased by individuals without paying tax.

Next, Ms. Soledad Fernández Doctor thanks Mr. Marcos Álvarez and Mr. Vicente Cillero for their presentations and offers the floor to the attendees in case they wish to make any comments.

Firstly, Mr. Arturo Jiménez, representative of AEDAF, intervened to ask whether it is not foreseen that this type of directives with an environmental objective will present some kind of modification, given the paradigm in which we find ourselves at the moment.

Mr. Vicente Cillero replied that one of the issues raised by the Directive is the increase in tax rates, and yet 20 cents are being refunded for diesel fuel. He added that the Green Deal was drawn up by the European Commission in 2019 and that it is a very ambitious project, but that, obviously, the circumstances that have arisen subsequently will affect the proposal. The Deputy Director General for Management and Intervention of Special Taxes also reiterates what has been said in relation to the Commission's previous initiatives in this area, the last of which was finally archived in 2015. According to Mr Vicente Cillero, it would be desirable to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030 and achieve decarbonisation of the economy by 2050, but the current economic situation will influence the achievement of these challenges.

The representatives of various associations and colleges then wish Mr Marcos Álvarez and Mr Vicente Cillero the best of luck in carrying out their duties in relation to the upcoming Spanish presidency of the European Union.

Then, since no other interventions were made, the Director General of the Tax Agency moved on to the next point on the agenda.

6. Next call

Ms. Soledad Fernández Doctor states that the intention is to maintain the semi-annual frequency of the meetings, indicating in this regard that the next meeting would probably be held in November or December.

7. Other considerations, requests and questions

The President of the Forum then gave way to the 7th point on the agenda, “Other considerations, requests and questions” and offered the floor to those in attendance.

Ms Alicia Rodríguez Hitos, representative of the General Council of Official Colleges of Social Graduates of Spain, took the floor. After congratulating Ms Soledad Fernández Doctor on her new position as Director General of the Tax Agency, as well as the other recently appointed people, she pointed out that she would like to insist on what has already been said regarding the tax calendar, since it is a recurring topic in the Forum sessions. He therefore requested that it be established in November, which is a relatively quiet month for tax advisors, so that they have time to study it and present their proposals. He adds that various points of the Administration are spreading a message in favour of the reconciliation of work and family life, highlighting the right to digital disconnection, and yet the issue of 24/7 platforms, which work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, has alarmed them, since in order for them to work they need the work of professionals, preventing their right to digital disconnection and, consequently, that of their employees. He adds that it must be taken into account that the increase in workload on certain days cannot be solved by hiring temporary staff, since they need to have a specific and stable workforce to provide their services. He therefore insists on this issue and asks the new management of the Tax Agency to take it into consideration. On the other hand, he points out that in the IRPF 2021 campaign he has been pleasantly surprised that the deadline for direct debits of the first payment has been extended until June 27 and asks whether it has been a concession from the collaborating entities, which seems to be the main obstacle in this matter, or whether it has been an initiative of the Tax Agency that will be able to be transferred to the rest of the self-assessments.

Ms. Soledad Fernández Doctor replies that, in her opinion, she is right in what she requested regarding work-life balance and the right to digital disconnection, but that she cannot commit to providing a solution, although the issue will be studied carefully, to the extent that, taking into account the powers of the Tax Agency, it is possible. He then gives the floor to Mr. Guillermo Barros.

The Director of the Tax Collection Department reiterates that it was already agreed at the working group meeting that associations and schools would submit their proposals regarding the tax calendar. On the other hand, regarding direct debits, it indicates that the collaboration regime with the entities is established by the regulations.  SEPA , which establishes a period of 5 days for direct debits. However, he said that the need to shorten this period will continue to be stressed in meetings with collaborating entities. Regarding the extension of the deadline for direct debit of IRPF 2021, he points out that this was established in the ministerial order approving the declaration models.

Ms. Rosa María Prieto indicates that the declaration of IRPF is something special, given the large number of taxpayers affected and the profile of the majority. Thus, given that this year June 25th was a Saturday, the Administration asked the collaborating entities to make an extraordinary effort, as in previous years where the same thing has happened, and to extend the deadline.

Ms. Alicia Rodríguez replies that, then, with greater reason, the deadline for quarterly self-assessments could be extended, since the number of taxpayers affected is considerably lower.

The Director of the Tax Management Department indicates that it is not only due to the volume of taxpayers affected, but also due to their profile, since the majority are individuals.

Next, Mr. Antonio Ibarra takes the floor and, in relation to cryptocurrencies, would like to point out a number of issues that he considers very important. Firstly, it indicates that, according to sources from the Bank of Spain, in 2021 more than five million people have invested in cryptocurrencies. He comments that, given that in the IRPF declaration of 2021 a box has been enabled to record capital gains and losses derived from operations with virtual currencies, it would be interesting to know how many taxpayers have declared this type of income in the IRPF of 2021 and that, in his opinion, there will be very few. He adds that it would also be very useful to have a separate box in the 2022 IRPF declaration to record capital gains derived from virtual currencies. Secondly, it points out that before the Tax Agency begins to carry out targeted checks on the declarants of this type of assets, it should consider the difficulties that taxpayers and tax professionals have encountered with this type of income, especially taking into consideration that at the European Union level there is no homogenized regulatory framework and there is only the MiCa Regulation, which does not consider taxation aspects. In this regard, he adds that when listening to Mr. Vicente Cillero talk about future files from the European Commission in relation to new tobacco products, he could not help but wonder when there will be a regulation on the taxation of tokens , the metaverse, etc. Thus, it indicates that there are more than five million people who have invested in cryptocurrencies and that the number is going to increase in a spectacular way, since the interest rates that are being paid are, in general, very high, without entering into controversies about whether these are multi-level activities, pyramid schemes, etc. He adds that the complexities and difficulties in this matter were made clear in the discussion on these issues held between AECE and Tax Inspectors, whose organization he has to thank Mr. Javier Hurtado for. Thus, Mr. Antonio Ibarra goes on to point out that in the IRPF 2021 campaign he has had to refuse to prepare the declaration for more than 50% of the clients who had carried out operations with cryptocurrencies and that those that he had been able to present had been after the client had signed an exclusion of liability. He adds that the information on this type of operation available when filing a declaration is chaotic and that he could present the Tax Agency with an example where a person has simply invested money and the documentation provided by the exchange includes more than 3,000 exchange or swap operations that make their traceability impossible. The AECE representative reiterates that there are many people who want to declare these investments, but do not know how to do so, which means that there is still a lot of work to be done in this area, so that this is a feasible option for all taxpayers.

Ms. Soledad Fernández Doctor asks him if the difficulties come from the high number of operations, to which Mr. Antonio Ibarra responds that, indeed, it is impressive, since with this type of virtual currencies the electronic robots (IBot) carry out a multitude of daily exchanges automatically that prevent or make it extremely difficult to know the origin and traceability of all the operations carried out from the investment until it is translated into a FIAT. He reiterates that work must be done to implement a system that allows compliance with tax obligations in this area, especially considering that the Bank of Spain has indicated that in three years there will be thirteen million investors, and that the current profile is made up of 80% people under 28 years of age, of whom it is easy to assume that many will be students or that they lack other types of income and that their operations with cryptocurrencies can affect the declarations of their parents in terms of the minimums for descendants or deductions that they can apply, so the implications are very important.

Ms. Soledad Fernández Doctor responds that, indeed, the tax management and inspection bodies will have to face the new challenge posed by the daily reality of cryptocurrencies and that, given that the AECE representative is an expert in the matter, it is very much appreciated to have his experience.

Mr. Antonio Ibarra intervenes again to state that his philosophy is not to evade and defraud, but rather the opposite, to educate and collaborate so that people declare their income and know why they do it and how. He adds that, in the event that a client who has submitted the declaration including cryptocurrency transactions receives a request, the only thing he could provide is a spreadsheet showing the purchase and sale dates and the calculations made, but without being able to justify the origin of the transaction. Thus, it indicates that the discrepancy with the Tax Agency could arise from the fact that the latter decided to integrate the capital gain into the general base instead of into the savings base, as it was unable to provide the origin of the operation. In such a case, the inconvenience will be significant and the only option you would have is to provide the Tax Agency with a CSV file with all the transaction data, which, on the other hand, is practically unreadable. He reiterated that, in his opinion, these transactions should not cause problems for those who declare them and that before the Tax Agency began to make requests and checks, it should be clear what the procedure to be followed would be.

Next, Mr. Arturo Jiménez took the floor and, after congratulating the Director General of the Tax Agency on her recent appointment and apologising for the absence of Ms. Stella Raventós and Mr. Javier Gómez Taboada, added that he wished to state the following in relation to two issues of concern to the AEDAF:

1. DAC6

The AEDAF filed an appeal in a timely manner before the National Court against Order HAC/342/2021, of 12/4, by which models 234, 235 and 236 were approved; all of them in relation to the information of " cross-border tax planning mechanisms " as a result of the transposition of the European regulation known as DAC6.

In its claim, AEDAF argues that " the disproportionate burden, and in many cases also impossible to comply with " that the obligation to provide information regarding mechanisms implemented in the previous three years represents, runs counter to the legal certainty and legitimate trust enshrined in our Constitution.

For its part, the State Attorney's Office, in its response, refutes this argument, but intends to do so - in its Sixth FD, paragraphs 92 and 93 - with the claim that the AEDAF (like the rest of the colleges and associations present here) " has had access since June 2020 to the content of the information models. In fact, the appellant is the recipient of the information emails from the Technical Secretariat of the Forum of Tax Advisors and Professionals, which has been promptly informed of all the technical developments and content of these models. Therefore, the content, format and specifications of these models were made available, even while the standard was being processed, to facilitate the implementation of any developments that were deemed necessary. This technical information has been communicated to you successively at the meetings of the working groups since June 2020 ".

The AEDAF expresses its astonishment at this ruse by the State Attorney's Office: Our presence in this Forum may never, under any conditions or circumstances, constitute any undermining of the defence of the legitimate interests of taxpayers; rather, it must be the opposite; and we interpret this procedural strategy as completely contrary to good faith and the legitimate trust that must govern relations between the Administration and society.

Mr. Diego Loma-Osorio Lerena, Director of the Legal Service of the Tax Agency, replied that he was not familiar with the specifics of the issue raised by the representative of AEDAF and that in any case the knowledge of all those involved in the matters discussed at the Forum meetings is reflected in the corresponding minutes for all purposes, and that, being unaware of the specific case discussed, he had nothing more to add.

2. REPORTS CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE CONFLICT IN THE APPLICATION OF THE STANDARD

For the AEDAF, the reading of the most recent Reports of the Advisory Committee on the occurrence of conflict in the application of the rule (former article 15 LGT ) that are made public through the AEAT website itself, conveys to us the perception of a very lax and, therefore, expansive concept of the old " fraud of law ", since a very broad interpretation is made of the two requirements demanded by section 1 of the aforementioned article 15.

Even though we understand that this is a matter that, due to its own circumstances, presents many shades of grey (far from both black and white), it is also true that a broad conceptualization of the conflict in the application of the norm would seriously undermine the autonomy of the will, in short, freedom, thus significantly curtailing the possibilities of exploring the always legitimate economies of choice.

Finally, Mr. Arturo Jiménez expressly requests that these two considerations be incorporated verbatim into the minutes of this Plenary Session.

Mr Javier Hurtado then intervened to indicate that, in relation to the second question raised, the path being followed is that derived from the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court. He adds that since the General Tax Law was approved in 2003, there had hardly been any conflicts in the application of the law, but that, at the moment, they are increasing, mainly due to the numerous cases that the Courts have referred to the existence of a conflict in the application of the law, instead of using the figure of simulation.

Mr. Arturo Jiménez points out that the problem is what is revealed in the content of the reports.

Since there are no new interventions, the Director General of the State Tax Administration Agency thanks those who attended for their presence and participation and closes the twenty-first plenary session of the Forum of Associations and Colleges of Tax Professionals.