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 revenue managed by the Tax Agency in 2021 reached 275,781 million euros, 27,434 million more than that achieved in the same period of the previous year (11% increase).
The main reason for the increase in revenue was the recovery of tax bases, whose growth is provisionally estimated at around 13%, exceeding by around 4% the growth observed in 2019. On the other hand, the numerous measures of different kinds that had an impact on revenue did not represent, in net terms, a significant figure.
The economic context was characterised by a constant improvement in activity and a rise in prices. After a problematic start marked by the effects of the third wave of infections and the impact of storm Filomena, the evolution of the main activity indicators was in continuous progress, especially in the second half of the year. Thus, real GDP, which in the first quarter showed a decline of 0.2% compared to the last quarter of 2020, in the fourth increased by 2.3% compared to the third. For its part, membership began to register growth compared to 2019 figures from June onwards and the figure for December was already more than 2% higher than that of the same month of that year, although the comparison continued to be conditioned by the validity of the ERTE. Something similar was observed in the daily sales provided by the VAT Immediate Information Supply system, the closest available indicator to the present. Until the end of March, sales were even lower than in 2020, but after that month, sales began to recover and since August they have been decidedly above those of 2019, ending the year with growth of over 20% compared to 2020 and 4% compared to 2019 as a whole. The improvement in daily sales was influenced by both the real component and price increases, which became more pronounced as the year progressed. Industrial prices (excluding energy) had begun to recover pre-pandemic growth rates in the last months of 2020 and from the first months of 2021 they showed a clear upward trend, although this was not reflected in the core of consumer prices until the second half of the year. Energy prices have also been increasing sharply since March. The end result was that, although the CPI only rose by 3.1% on average over the year (0.8% for the underlying price), the highest increases in many years have been recorded in recent months.
If gross income is analysed by figure, income tax collection increased by 5.9%. This is a smaller increase than that observed in other figures, but it must be remembered that in 2020 these revenues increased, in contrast to the general fall in the rest of the taxes, thanks to the cushion provided by public income (Public Administration salaries, pensions, transfers linked to ERTE and aid to the self-employed). In fact, if the comparison is made with 2019, it is concluded that this figure is the one that contributes the most to growth. Withholdings on income from work and economic activities, which are the main component of the tax, grew by 6.1%. Growth in the public and private sectors was similar, although in the former the increase was almost the same as in the previous year and in the private sector it represented a recovery after the fall in 2020 that also allowed it to exceed by almost 5% the income recorded in 2019. The growth in SMEs was particularly notable (14.7%; 5.4% compared to 2019). In the same sense, the fractional payments of personal companies stood out (17.3% and 5.6% more than in 2019). In the withholdings for capital income, the most remarkable thing was the exceptional increase in those derived from profits in investment funds (86.1%, more than doubling those in 2019).
Corporate tax revenues soared by 27.7%, more than offsetting the sharp decline of the previous year. In 2020, most of the decline was due to the drop in installment payments due to the decrease in activity caused by the pandemic, and in 2021, the most important cause of growth was also the increase in installments (50.2%). However, the payment figure is also good compared to 2019 (12.4% higher). Revenues in 2021 also benefited from some extraordinary operations; Taking this into account, payments would still be above 2019, but only by 3.5%.
In the Non-Resident Income Tax, revenues grew by 15.1% without being able to recover what was lost in 2020. The main reason was the evolution of capital gains, which grew, but not enough. Gross VAT revenue rose 11.9%, more than offsetting last year's 9.4% drop. Tax collection was 1.4% higher than in 2019. The increase would have been higher if it were not for the reduction in the domestic electricity consumption rate in effect since the end of June, which subtracted more than 500 million from revenues. The recovery in spending was the main cause of the increase in gross income, which was especially intense, as has been noted in the personal income tax, in SMEs (16.4%, 2.3% over 2019).
Excise tax revenues were 5.2% higher than in 2020, but were the major figures with the worst results in 2021. Many different factors influenced the result. In the Hydrocarbon Tax, revenues increased by 11.3%, but in 2020 they had decreased by 14.9%. Its evolution throughout the year was one of progressive improvement, but not at a pace sufficient to reverse the decline of the previous year. The mobility restrictions that still existed at the end of 2020 and the effects of the Filomena storm at the beginning of the year, together with the sharp rise in prices, hampered the recovery. The drop recorded in the Tobacco Tax (-1.9%) is the fifth consecutive one in recent years.
Consumption of the main product (cigarettes) fell again and average prices decreased (due to replacement by cheaper varieties) despite the fact that in the last quarter there were increases in the most representative brands. In the case of the Electricity Tax, the decrease in revenue (-12.2%) is explained by the rate reduction in force since mid-September, which is estimated to have an impact of 336 million. With this amount, revenues would be roughly at the same level as in 2019, with prices higher than those then. In alcohol taxes, after a very negative start due to poor consumption data at the end of 2020, high rates were recorded that brought growth in the year to 7.1%, but revenues never exceeded those of 2019 (-12.1% compared to that year).
Finally, gross revenue from Chapter III of Fees and other income reached 2,704 million (12.1% more than in 2020), which was the average revenue from this chapter in the years 2017-2019 (subtracting in the latter the excess of that year in the Fee for the use of inland waters).
Table No. 12. Total gross tax collection New window (Annex).