5.1. Forum on Large Companies and Code of Good Tax Practices

Following the conclusions of the Forum on Tax Administration of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) at its meetings in Seoul (2006) and Cape Town (2008), the Tax Agency launched new forms of cooperative relationship with large companies by creating a discussion forum in which the main problems that arise in the relationship between large companies and the tax administration are analyzed through joint or sectoral meetings.

Thus, on July 10, 2009, the Large Companies Forum was established as a cooperative relationship body between the Tax Agency and a group of 27 large Spanish companies selected based on factors such as turnover, tax debt paid, information provided to the tax authorities, number of employees, sector of activity and geographical distribution.

Several working groups were created within the Forum, one of which was dedicated to the development of a Code of Good Tax Practices (CBPT).

This code was approved in the Forum 's plenarysession held on 20 July 2010 and has been publishedon-line on the Tax Agency website. All the companies that so wish can subscribe this code, whether or not they are members of the forum and they can freely disseminate said subscription.

The aim of this Code of Best Practice is to all together (companies and the authorities) improve the application of our tax system. The code contains a series of recommendations regarding best tax practice, both for companies and for the Tax Authorities.

Both the companies and the Administration assume as a fundamental aim of their relations that of preventing conflicts in the application of the tax regulations and therefore avoiding the high costs involved in settling these conflicts for both parties. For companies, the code will imply a higher security scenario in taxation matters which will facilitate business decision-making; for the Tax Agency, it will imply an increase in the effectiveness and efficiency of tax control.

In the development of this Code, in 2015 an Appendix was approved to reinforce the cooperative relationship between the Tax Agency and the companies adhered to this instrument of good fiscal governance. In 2016 a proposal was approved for reinforcing good practices on fiscal transparency among companies adhering to the Code of Good Tax Practices, articulating the contents and use of a report entitled "Annual Fiscal Transparency Report for companies adhering to the Code of Good Tax Practices".

As of December 31, 2021, 175 companies and groups of companies were adhering to the Code of Good Tax Practices.

During 2021, and despite the difficulties generated by the pandemic, the Large Business Forum has continued its activity virtually, being an important point of contact between the Tax Agency and companies.