3.2.2. Evolution of income for Value Added Tax

VAT collection in 2021 amounted to 72,498 million euros and gained 14.5% over the figure registered in 2020.

The improvement in taxable expenditure during 2021 is best seen in gross income (more than half of the returns made do not correspond to the current year) which, as noted above, grew by 11.9%. The trajectory throughout the year was, logically, conditioned by the profile of the previous year, with a sharp decline in the months of strict confinement, subsequent recovery and relatively stable losses in the final part of the year. What was notable occurred precisely in the final months of 2021 when, compared to months of stability, revenue growth accelerated. Part of this acceleration had to do with the price increases in that period (which also explains that at the same time the return requests increased rapidly), although it must be remembered that part of this increase in prices was canceled with the reduction of the type in domestic electricity consumption, which subtracted more than 500 million from the collection.

Another notable fact was the greater growth that occurred in SMEs with respect to monthly declarations (from Large Companies, groups and other operators with the right to monthly refund, and including imports). The income of the former grew by 16.4% (about five points less if it is taken into account that part of the income in 2020 benefited from the deferrals within the measures intended to facilitate liquidity and appear within the concept of rest ), while monthly income increased by 12.4%. If the comparison is made with 2019, SMEs also showed better performance (+2.3% compared to +1.1% of monthly statements).