3.1. Gross tax collection

The gross amount of tax collected comprises the effective incomes obtained in the fiscal year from both the self-assessment tax returns filed by taxpayers and from the settlements carried out by the Tax Agency. It is therefore set on a cash basis.

The total gross tax collection amount managed by the Tax Agency in 2016 reached 231,256 million euros, with an increase of 1.6% compared to 2015.

It is estimated that the gross tax bases grew by approximately 4.3 percent, although it should be noted that almost two points are due to the upward impulse of the measures adopted in Royal Decree Law 3/2016 on Corporation Tax. Most of the weight fell on family incomes (with the increase estimated at approximately 2.9 percent) and expenses subject to VAT (which grew by approximately 3.7 percent). All of this occurred in an increasingly stable economic climate and one in which prices were falling for most of the year. This applies to energy prices, causing a significant drop in the value of the gross tax bases linked to Special Taxes, despite actual consumer rates remaining stable.

Together with the evolution of the tax gases, the regulatory measures also had an impact on revenues in 2016. Overall, regulatory measures introduced reduced revenues by 2,264 million euros, concentrated in certain figures and certain periods of the year. Direct tax reform implemented in 2015 and 2016 led to a drop in revenues of 6,489 million, to which we must add the almost 6,000 million for 2015. The impact was concentrated in the first part of the year since in the previous year part of the 2016 Personal Income Tax reform was brought forward to July. Payments by instalment of Corporation Tax were impacted by Royal Decree Law 2/2016, with effect from the second payment deposited in October, reintroducing some of the measures that had been in force in previous years (minimum payment, incremented rate) and had been removed in early 2016. Its impact is estimated at 2,967 million, which was deposited in the last quarter, resulting in the revenue evolution for this figure being very negative up to September and very positive in the last months of the year.

In terms of revenue details, the growth of each one of the main items varied depending on the impact of the regulatory changes. In the case of Personal Income Tax revenue the growth was minimal (at 0.6 percent) since it was affected by the tax reform put in place. Corporation Tax recorded an increase in revenues of 5.7 percent, a little over 1,600 million, most of which was due to the regulatory changes. In terms of indirect taxation, VAT grew by 1.8 percent, highlighting the strong growth, for the second consecutive year, in SMEs. Lastly, tax revenues on Special Taxes increased by 1.3 percent, thanks to the advances on Hydrocarbons and Tobacco taxes.