Gross tax bases

In 2021 the tax bases of the main taxes grew by 12.7%. This growth is greater than the drop that occurred in 2020 (-7.5%), so that at the end of the year the tax bases were 4.2% higher than those recorded in 2019 ( Table 1.3 ). As already happened in 2020, in which the drop in the bases was smaller than that experienced by the macroeconomic indicator that is usually used as a reference (the sum of internal demand and compensation of employees), in 2021 the bases also showed a better behavior. In Graph 1.12 you can see that while the bases increased compared to 2019, as mentioned, by 4.2%, the sum of both accounting aggregates decreased (2.5%). Just as then there are reasons that explain the disparity. In 2020 it was public income, some of which (such as transfers linked to ERTE and aid to the self-employed) are not directly reflected in the indicator. These incomes in 2021 played the opposite role, but on the other hand other bases (such as business profits or the value of consumption of energy products), also without immediate translation into the indicator or with less weight in it, acted in favor of the tax bases. However, even in the bases closest to the indicators (spending subject to VAT in the case of domestic demand or salaries in the case of remuneration of employees) the divergences were accentuated in 2021. As an example, the wage bill from tax returns, conceptually equivalent to the salaries and wages included in the remuneration of employees, which in 2021 was 3.1% higher than that of 2019, while the estimated salaries and wages by the National Accounts were 0.8% lower in 2021 than that year.

The evolution of the bases throughout the year was, logically, determined by the comparison with what happened in 2020, a year marked by confinement and the different degrees of restrictions on activity and mobility (Graph 1.13). Thus, the year began with moderate growth, conditioned by the effect of the wave of infections at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021 and by the effect of the Filomena storm, to rebound with intensity in the second quarter in response to the intense drop in activity occurred in the months of strictest confinement of 2020 and, subsequently, maintained in the second half at rates slightly above 13%.

In 2021, the growth of the bases linked to income was less intense than that of those associated with spending (8.4% and 19.4%, respectively; Graph 1.14), reflecting, once again, what happened in 2020, the year in which the effects of the pandemic had a stronger impact on the deterioration of spending, while the fall in income was limited by the cushion provided by the public income, both salaries and pensions and other benefits, especially those derived from ERTE and aid to the self-employed. Compared to 2019, income exceeded what it was then by 5.4%, while spending was 2.4% higher than that achieved two years ago, thanks, above all, to the intense progress that occurred in the second semester (in the first, spending levels still remained below 2019 records), favored by the price increases observed in the final stretch of the year.

The gross income of households grew by 5.9% in 2021 ( Table 2.1 ), with an improvement in all its components, an improvement that was , logically, more intense in income from the private sector (salaries, capital income and company income) which performed worse last year (Graph 1.15). Public income, on the contrary, in 2020 allowed the fall in household income to stop and in 2021 it practically maintained the level of a year before. Overall, compared to 2019, rents were 5.5% higher than then. Except for income from movable capital and those from leases of premises, the rest of the income was above the 2019 level.

Labor income, the main component of household income, grew by 4.3% ( Table 2.1 ). The divergence between the evolution of the private and public sectors continued throughout the year, reflecting what happened the previous year. Private sector salaries grew by 8.2%, thanks in particular to the good results of SMEs (15.1%, -12.4% in 2020), more evident in the second half of the year. In Large Companies, growth was 3.4%, compared to the 2.7% drop they experienced in 2020. Compared to 2019, the private sector wage bill was 0.7% higher in 2021 than what was observed then (0.6% in Large Companies and 0.8% in SMEs). For its part, public income (salaries, pensions and benefits) grew by 0.4%, a relatively low rate that is justified by the comparison with 2020 with very high levels due to unemployment benefits (which include transfers linked to ERTE). Regarding public salaries, growth in the year was 5.1% (5.2% a year earlier), confirming in the fourth quarter the trend towards moderation once the impact they had was absorbed. In the second half of 2020, the largest hirings in health and education and the increases derived from the salary equalization process in the security forces. Finally, public pensions maintained growth of around 3.5% throughout the year. Around two and a half points of the improvement compared to 2020 was due to the increase in the average pension, which occurred due to the revaluation at the beginning of the year and, as usual, due to the incorporation of pensioners with average pensions higher than those They are already in the system. The increase in the number of pensioners explains the remaining increase.

For households' capital income as a whole, growth of 12.6% is estimated in 2021, after the 12% drop in 2020. This advance was not enough to recover the levels of 2019 (they were 1% below). The evolution was very uneven in the different assets. Income from movable capital closed the year with a decrease of 2.2%, which accumulated to the decrease of 19.7% in 2020, which represents a drop compared to 2019 of 21.5%. Income from real estate capital, on the other hand, increased its dynamism throughout the year, so that for 2021 the growth was 7.5% compared to 2020 and 1% compared to 2019. Within these incomes, the behavior of those from the rental of premises was worse than that of the group as a whole: They grew by 5% in the year, but are still below (10.1%) what they were in 2019. In capital gains, the income with the best results in 2021, the increase was 31%, highlighting the exceptional increase in profits linked to investment funds (80% which joins the growth of 12.3% in 2020) .

Finally, regarding the profits of personal companies, they grew by 20.6% in 2021, after a decrease of 14.6% in 2020. It must be remembered that these companies are highly concentrated in activities that were especially affected by mobility limitations (transport, hospitality, personal and leisure services) and, therefore, a marked rebound should be expected in 2021 to the extent that those limitations were relaxed. Now, the recovery was better than expected and, even though restrictions did not completely disappear, the result in 2021 exceeded the levels reached in 2019 by 3%.

The consolidated corporate tax base grew by 26.7% in 2021 ( Table 3.1 ). The rate is calculated against amounts greatly affected by the incidence of the pandemic, making the comparison with 2019 more informative. In this case the increase is estimated at 4.7%. Profits, for their part, grew by 32%, largely in response to the intense decline in 2020, but also due to the contribution of some extraordinary operations (a bank merger and the sale of assets of a large company). Compared to 2019, profits in 2021 were still 6.8% below those of that year. The information declared in the installment payments ( Table 3.2 ) indicates that the increase in profits and tax base was greater in the groups (even eliminating the impact of the merger and sale of assets) than in Large Companies and that in SMEs that declare according to the profit of the period.

final expenditure subject to VAT showed intense growth in 2021, closing the year 19.3% above the level reached in 2020 ( Tables 1.3 and 4.1 ). Spending was also higher, by 3%, than in 2019. In the latter part of 2021, there was a significant rise in prices that favored the increase in nominal spending, although, as can be seen in Chart 1.19, most of the increase in the year was due to the increase in real spending. From the point of view of the components, the greatest growth occurred in family spending (which is the group with the greatest weight in the total and the one that was most affected by the restrictions in 2020) for which a annual growth of 21.8%, above the 2019 record (+1.2%). Expenditure on home purchases rose by 16.4% in 2021, while current and capital expenditures by Public Administrations grew by 7.1% (in both cases the rates compared to 2019 exceeded 11%).

Regarding Excise Taxes, the value of consumption subject to Excise Taxes increased by 19.9% in 2021 ( Tables 1.3 and 5.1 ). This increase was not enough (except in the case of electricity) to recover the levels of 2019 after the strong contraction suffered in 2020, a consequence of both the negative evolution of consumption and the fall in prices, the latter especially intense in fuels and electricity. The recovery in the value of consumption in 2021 is understood, precisely, by the upward trend of both components. Except for tobacco products, both consumption and prices increased in 2021, highlighting the strong increase in gasoline and diesel prices since the middle of the year ( Table 9.1 ) and of electricity ( Table 5.7 ), not only compensating for the previous drop, but also growing until reaching maximum levels (since 2014 in the case of gasoline and diesel, the highest in the series in the case of electricity). However, it must be remembered that, as will be seen later, despite the increase in prices, this did not translate into higher income, either because, as with gasoline and diesel, the tax is based on physical consumption (so Therefore, the price increase does not increase revenue, but rather reduces it), either because, as in electricity, the rate was lowered as part of the set of measures aimed at mitigating the effect of these price increases.