Introduction

Tax revenues amounted to 271,935 million euros, with a growth of 6.4% compared to those registered in 2022.

The increase in income in 2023 was preceded by two years with high increases in collection (15.1% in 2021 and 14.4% in 2022). However, these two years were compared to periods with an atypical situation: in 2021 with the moments of confinement and in 2022 with a year that had not yet returned to complete normality and in which inflationary tensions reached maximums.

The two features that characterized the year were the increase in bases, particularly household income and Corporate Tax income, and the impact of regulatory measures, especially those related to rate reductions in IRPF and VAT . The aggregate tax base of the main taxes grew by 7.6%, with 10.6% in those linked to income and 3.6% in those related to spending. In the former, increases were observed in all components (salaries, pensions, capital income,...), although the largest was recorded in the corporate tax base. In spending, on the other hand, growth was more moderate conditioned by the decline in energy prices that affected the value of consumption subject to special taxes. In the VAT part , however, spending increased by 7.1%.

The regulatory and management changes had a negative impact in 2023 valued at 3,342 million, which means that, in the absence of measures, collection would have grown by 7.8%, a rate consistent with the evolution of the bases. These impacts were more intense in some figures, such as the case of Personal Income Tax and VAT . In Personal Income Tax the cost of the measures was 3,841 million, almost all of it concentrated in two measures: the increase in the reduction for work income that benefited lower salaries and pensions, and the various measures approved by the CC. AA. in the part of Personal Income Tax over which they have powers and which were mostly aimed at compensating for the effects of inflation, through the elevation of family minimums, partial deflation of the rate and the implementation of new deductions or the expansion of existing ones. The first represented a loss of 1,726 million in withholdings for the year and in the second the negative impact on net income is valued at 1,677 million. Regarding I VAT , the reduction in income due to the measures is estimated at 3,097 million, of which, 2,452 million were the result of the reduction in rates on energy, basic food and health products. feminine hygiene and contraceptives.

A more disaggregated analysis of income reveals the notable differences between the 10.1% growth recorded by direct taxes ( IRPF , Corporate Tax, Non-Resident Income Tax, taxes environmental and other insignificant for the State) and the increase of 1.7% in the collection of indirect taxes (including fees and other income).

Regarding the four main figures, income from personal income tax grew by 9.9%. It is estimated that household income increased at a similar rate (9%). The main causes of growth were the increase in employment, wage and pension increases, and the increase in the effective rate associated with these increases. All of this favored a high increase in withholdings for work income which, however, were limited by the reduction in the tax on the lowest incomes. Although its weight in the tax is less than that of previous withholdings, there was also significant growth in withholdings for personal capital income and in fractional payments from personal companies.

In Corporate Tax collection grew by 9%. The profits of Large Companies and groups increased by more than 15% in 2023, which was reflected in a growth of the same order in installment payments, the main component of income in this figure. Part of the increase was due to the regulatory change that came into force at the beginning of 2023 by which the tax base of a group was calculated in 2023 by adding the positive tax bases and 50% of the negative tax bases of the member entities of the group. Also the positive quota of the annual declaration, corresponding to the settlement of the year 2022, experienced a notable increase, more than 12%. As with payments, there was a regulatory change that increased income; in this case the minimum rate of 15% which, although it was approved in the 2022 Budget, had its first application in the 2022 declaration presented in 2023. Despite these two elements, the total tax grew by only 9% as a result of the high amount of refunds in 2023, most of them corresponding to the 2021 financial year.

In indirect taxes, collection from VAT grew by 1.6%. Subject spending was 7.1%. The difference is explained by the impact of the different regulatory and management changes (the reduction in rates on energy and basic foods, the new regulation on deferrals and extraordinary refunds). If the income not received due to these measures is added, the growth in collection would be 5.3%, more in line with the evolution of spending, and even more so if it is taken into account that the rate cuts have an immediate impact in gross income (which was virtually the same as in 2022), but delayed in the returns made (they decreased by 3.8% when applications decreased by almost 6%).

Income from Excise Taxes increased by 2.6%, growth that occurred thanks to the Tax on Non-Reusable Plastic Packaging, new in 2023. Eliminating the income from this tax, the total collection from Special Taxes would have been a little lower than in 2022 (-58 million). The main figure in this group of taxes, the Hydrocarbon Tax, barely grew (0.6%). The high price of gasoline and diesel for much of the year and the slowdown in economic activity hindered the evolution of these incomes. In the Tax on Tobacco Products, income increased by 0.5%. The year was distinguished by significant price increases, the largest inherited from the previous year. In taxes on alcohol, collection was reduced (-7.2%), particularly in beverages with higher alcohol content. Revenues from the Electricity Tax continued to be marginal given the extension of the reduction in the rate from 5.11% to 0.5%, effective since mid-September 2021. ##10008195####10008195##