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 collection managed by the Tax Agency in 2018 reached 258,154 million euros, 17,466 million higher than that achieved in the same period of the previous year (7.3 percent increase). This growth was conditioned in part by the entry into force in July 2017 of the new Immediate Information Supply system ( SII ) of the VAT . If this effect is corrected, revenues would have grown by 5.7 percent.

The fundamental causes behind the growth in income were the increase in tax bases and the positive results of the annual IRPF declaration.

It is estimated that the aggregate tax base of the main taxes grew in 2018 around 6 percent, growth almost one point higher than in 2017. It should be noted that, although the trend in real activity was downward throughout the year, in nominal terms the profile was different, at least as regards the tax bases. Thus, in the second half of the year there was, on the one hand, additional growth in income thanks to the increases in salaries and public pensions approved in July together with the 2018 Budget and the improvement in benefits, and, on the other, a impulse of the bases linked to spending as a consequence of price increases, especially in energy products. The result of the evolution of the bases was an increase in income from labor withholdings, from fractional payments in the Corporate Tax and from VAT which explain, between the three, a 90 percent of the growth recorded in 2018.

Growth was particularly concentrated in those related to direct taxes. Collection for Personal Income Tax increased by 6.5 percent, driven by the increase in labor withholdings and gross income from the annual declaration. Fractional payments of personal companies and withholdings of movable capital also grew intensely (although their impact on tax growth is minor), in this case also breaking the negative trend of previous years. Income from Corporate Tax increased by 9.2 percent, due to the increase in installment payments, the main component of the tax, which grew thanks to the good performance of profits, which also increased the weight of the minimum payment within said payments. . In the Non-Resident Income Tax, income registered an increase of 21.6 percent, which is also explained by the evolution of the bases (especially the improvement in dividends) and the result of the annual declaration.

Revenue from VAT (corrected from SII ) increased by 4.8 percent. It is estimated that the final expenditure subject to the tax closed the year with a growth of more than 5.5 percent. Part of the difference between both figures is due to the decrease in income from previous periods (a consequence of the changes in the management of deferrals that took place in 2017 and whose effects were carried over into 2018). Revenue from Excise Taxes grew by 0.5 percent. The most important figure, the Tax on Hydrocarbons, increased 1.9 percent, in line with the evolution of gasoline and automotive diesel consumption. As usual, the Tax on Tobacco Products had an irregular trajectory, with low amounts in the first part of the year, recovery to normal levels in the central months and strong increases and decreases in the final stretch. The result was a 1.5 percent decline in revenue. In the Electricity Tax, income rose 3.6 percent compared to the previous year. Consumption maintained a discreet behavior and collection only showed significant increases when prices increased considerably in the second part of the year. In the Coal Tax, revenue fell by 13.1 percent, due to the high level reached in 2017, as a consequence of the drought at that time and the use of coal as a substitute in the generation of electrical energy. In taxes related to alcohol, revenues decreased slightly.

Finally, in chapter III (fees and other income) collection in 2018 was 1.2 percent lower than in 2017. The main reason was the decrease in income from the Canon from the use of continental waters, also as a result of the drought suffered in 2017, a year that was settled in 2018.

Table 12. Total gross tax collection.New window