3.3. Results obtained in accordance with other indicators established in previous years' Target Plans

The Objective Plans prior to 2018 included indicators referring to the results derived from fraud prevention and control actions. This term is used to measure the tax collection results of the Tax Agency's actions to combat fraud.

However, these indicators provide a measurement of the Agency's control activities on a cash basis (settlements collected regardless of the year in which the settlement was made, collected contributions that had been reported in the financial year or in previous financial years, late settlements entered, as well as denial of requested refunds).

Furthermore, the objective of maximising anti-fraud results indicators may not be fully aligned with one of the basic functions entrusted to the Tax Agency, namely increasing voluntary tax collection. Although legislative measures have been adopted to increase self-assessed and paid taxes (eg. limitation of financial expenses, obligation to declare assets abroad, investment of the taxable person in VAT in real estate transfers...), their effectiveness would be limited if the behavior of the Tax Agency were subsequently passive.

Furthermore, the anti-fraud results indicators only reflect part of the effects of the Tax Agency's activity, with a time frame limited to a specific year.

All these issues and the greater focus on assistance and fraud prevention actions advise measuring the results of the Tax Agency through an indicator such as net collection, which includes not only the income from the liquidations made but also the income self-assessed by taxpayers, in which the role of the Tax Agency is extremely important.

Without prejudice to the above, information is provided on the results obtained in 2020 in accordance with the anti-fraud results indicators included in the Objective Plans for years prior to 2018.

The Tax Agency's collection results in the prevention and fight against fraud reached a total amount of 17,274 million euros in 2020, which represents an increase of 9.93% compared to the previous year. These results include extraordinary reductions in split payments amounting to 4.487 billion euros, which will be difficult to repeat in other years.

In relation with this result, the Efficiency Index measures the amount obtained through these actions in the fight against fraud for each euro spent in the Agency. To calculate it, the following magnitudes are used:

The numerator includes, in millions of euros, the amount obtained through the fight against tax and customs fraud.
The denominator includes, in millions of euros, the amount of the annual budget of the Tax Agency, in terms of recognised obligations. It includes the cost of all the functions performed by the Tax Agency, since they all contribute to the fulfilment of its mission of ensuring the correct application of the State's tax and customs system.

According to the efficiency index, in 2020, for every euro spent at the Agency, 11.52 euros were collected in the fight against fraud, a figure slightly higher than the previous year, although this level is conditioned by the amount of the fractional payments indicated above, as is the case with the performance index shown in table no. 9.

Data and graphs related to this issue can be found in Annex Table No. 16. Efficiency Index . New Window

The total amount is made up of two parts: “Results of the prevention and control of tax and customs fraud” for which 16,597 million euros were obtained in 2020 and “Other results of the prevention and control of tax and customs fraud” with a result in this same period of 677 million euros.