2.4. Electronic Tax Agency

Since its creation, the Tax Agency has been a pioneer in the field of the electronic administration, and the intensive use of new information and communication technologies has been a constant, which has led to it today being an authentic “electronic Tax Agency”.

Over the last years, the digital channel has become the most used channel for relations with taxpayers.

In this area, the implementation of the new electronic headquarters of the Tax Agency in 2021 has been essential: https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es . This website unifies the information portal and the electronic office, so that all services are now accessible under a thematic content structure – regardless of whether it is information or procedures – which makes navigation more comfortable and agile for the taxpayer, thus improving the user experience.

The new website has a modern design to facilitate browsing and a user-oriented vision and language, with explanations and descriptions prior to accessing the different procedures. The Agency's website is thus strengthened as a basic tool for minimising the indirect costs of tax compliance for the taxpayer.

The homepage shows the user three main sections: a block of content that will change over time ('carousel' or 'slider'), another with the most relevant procedures due to their importance and use by taxpayers (featured procedures), and a third (information and procedures) structured in sixteen topics, which gives access to the different procedures and information content, either by taxes, by taxpayer profiles and subjects; or by type of procedure.

Finally, at the bottom there are shortcuts to various subjects of interest, as well as a section of manuals, videos and brochures. Likewise, a block at the bottom of the page with the legal and security notices, the 'Contact us' and 'Help' sections, links of interest and the date the page was updated is maintained throughout the navigation of the new website.

Also in the field of electronic administration, and in relation to notifications, the entry into force in 2016 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations, meant that legal entities (including Public Administrations) were integrated into the Mandatory Electronic Notification (NEO) system. The total number of persons included in NEO as of December 31, 2021 was 2,350,159 individuals and legal entities.

In 2021, 14.76 million electronic notifications and communications were issued, of which 14.10 million correspond to holders included in Mandatory Electronic Notification (NEO).

In order to promote the use of the electronic registry for all registration procedures, in the case of natural persons, the submission of documentation with Cl@ve PIN has been facilitated. This facilitates access for those procedures that previously required an electronic certificate and for which it was not sufficient to provide the Secure Verification Code (CSV) of the communication received from the Tax Agency.

In this context, the number of submissions without the need for identification or with non-reinforced identification, with CSV or reference, has reached 811,809 registry entries. The number of entries registered electronically with an electronic certificate or Cl@ve PIN has grown in 2021, reaching 5,515,889 entries.

According to current regulations, there are numerous cases in which citizens are obliged to provide proof to the Public Administrations or to the agencies and entities dependent on them, of tax circumstances, such as their situation regarding compliance with tax obligations or their level of income.

During 2021, 9,699,086 certificates were requested electronically, which represents 95.12% of the total number of certificates requested. This means that more than nine out of ten certificates have been requested through electronic means, either by the citizen themselves or by direct supply to the Public Administration that requires the information.

There is no doubt that communication with taxpayers has changed and any means that allow improving taxpayer information and assisting them in fulfilling their tax obligations must be promoted and used, ultimately promoting better compliance with them.

In 2021, 2,291,491 more taxpayers have communicated their electronic contact information, either a mobile phone number, an email address or both, in order to use the systems to send information to the taxpayer or a notice about the existence of a notification. As of December 31, 2021, the total number of taxpayers subscribed to the notification alert system in 2020 reached 11,835,304.

The use of electronic administration offers unquestionable advantages, including a reduction in indirect tax pressure, a reduction in the workload of the Tax Agency's management, a reduction in the processing times of procedures and a reduction in the time needed to process information and to detect the evolution of economic variables.

One of the basic aspects of assistance provided through electronic channels is the ease with which a taxpayer can submit his or her documentation electronically. During 2021, a percentage of 91.21% of non-standard documents submitted by taxpayers via electronic registration was reached with respect to the total number of documents submitted through in-person and electronic registration.

An example of the growing importance of new communication with taxpayers, taking advantage of the benefits provided by electronic administration, is the creation of Comprehensive Digital Assistance Administrations (ADI), administrations in which attention and assistance to taxpayers is carried out exclusively by electronic and telephone means, and which facilitate accessibility to the entire population and during extended hours, reduce costs for taxpayers by avoiding travel, promote the unification of criteria in the application of the law, and allow greater specialization of the officials who work in them, thus improving assistance to taxpayers.

For further information, go to section 4.3. of this Report describes the services provided online.