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 State Tax Administration Agency in 2024 reached €365.865 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.6% (€25.959 billion more than in 2023).
Gross revenue grew primarily due to an increase in the tax base, although it was limited by the impact of regulatory and management changes. The aggregate tax base of the main taxes grew by around 6.9%. However, eliminating the value of consumption subject to excise duties, which decreased due to the drop in petroleum product prices and does not directly affect revenue, the increase in the base would have been 7.7%. Income-related bases increased by 8.9% (8% in 2023), with significant increases in both household income and corporate profits, which are expected to grow by 8.5% and around 13%, respectively. As for the bases associated with spending, it is estimated that they will grow around 4%, with a deceleration to 5.7% of spending subject to VAT and a fall in the value of consumption subject to Special Taxes. As was the case last year, revenue growth in 2024 was limited by the impact of regulatory and management changes. As a result of this evolution in the tax bases and regulatory changes, gross revenue from direct taxes grew by 9.4% (accounting for more than five percentage points of the overall growth in gross revenue), indirect taxes by 5.4% (contributing to aggregate growth of just over two percentage points), and fees and other revenues by 8.9%.
The increase in revenue occurred in a context of upward activity since the beginning of the year, with moderation in nominal variables due to the end of the inflationary tensions of previous years. He GDP In terms of volume, the fiscal year ended with a 3.2% increase, with average quarter-on-quarter rates above 0.8%. Year-on-year, 2023 closed with quarterly growth of around 2.2%, and in 2024, rates rose to 3.3%. All fiscal indicators (daily sales, monthly sales of Large Companies at constant population and quarterly sales of Large Companies and corporate SMEs) were advancing the upward trend of GDP throughout the year, with the novelty, starting mid-year, of the recovery of exports.
However, in nominal terms the situation was very different. The growth of the GDP nominal moderated significantly in 2024 to 6.2% (compared to 9.1% in 2023). However, in the case of domestic demand, which is a variable more related to income than the GDP nominal, the increase was 6.2%, similar to that recorded in 2023.
In 2024, the gaps in gross revenue growth from direct and indirect taxes observed in 2023 narrowed. As we have seen, the increase in direct taxes (mainly, PIT, Corporate Income Tax, Non-Resident Income Tax and environmental taxes) was 9.4% in 2024 (11% in 2023), while indirect taxes (Chapters II and III) increased by 5.4% (0.2% a year earlier).
If we analyze the gross income by figures, the collection by PIT increased by 8.6%, a figure consistent with household income growth of around 8.5% and the rise in the effective rate resulting from the increase in wages and pensions when the loss of income caused by regulatory changes is taken into account. All of this led to a significant increase in withholdings for employment and economic activity income, at 9%, which was, however, limited by the increase in the reduction for employment income. In the private sector, the increase was 9.1%, with 10.3% in large companies and 6.8% in SMEs. The increase in the reduction for employment income, which also reduced the rate for the lowest incomes (concentrated in SMEs and pensions) in 2024, reduced income for this group by almost 650 million euros. If these are combined, the increase in withholding tax revenue in the private sector would be 10.1%, and the gap between large companies and SMEs would be reduced (the rates would be 10.6% and 9%, respectively). The factors behind this growth were rising employment (with a slowdown throughout the year, only broken in the final stretch), wage increases (similar to those in 2023), and the associated increase in the interest rate. In the public sector, withholdings grew by 9.7%. In terms of wages, the increase was over 8%, almost 3.5 percentage points due to the rise in the average wage, and the remainder divided equally between the increase in employment and the rise in the effective rate. Meanwhile, withholdings linked to public pensions grew by nearly 12%, although part of the increase is due to the month of December 2023, which, as usual, was already entered into 2024 and still reflected the sharp pension increases of that year. Average growth since February was 11.3%, with 7 points coming from the pension pool and the remaining 4 from the rate increase (affected downwards, as mentioned, by the new reduction in income tax). Regarding withholding taxes on capital gains, these grew by 39% in 2024 due to similar reasons as in 2023, such as the increase in bank account interest following the rate hikes in previous years and the improvement in the distribution of profits in the form of dividends. Regarding the annual return, gross profit was 1.5% lower, a decline that was outweighed by net profit due to the significant increase in returns. This behavior is explained by the slow growth in income from economic activities, the decline in capital gains (especially those from the sale of real estate), and the reduction in mutual fund members' income as a result of the rulings on this matter.
Gross corporate income tax revenue rose by 10.7%. In this case, too, regulatory and management changes worked against revenue collection. Corporate profits are expected to rise by around 13%. The profit growth reported by large companies and groups in their installment payments was just over 12%, with a larger increase in large companies (almost 15%) than in groups (just over 11%). The increase in these split payments was in line with these benefits (11.1%) and, logically, as it is the most significant component of the tax, it determined the results of the entire figure. As with Personal Income Tax, capital withholdings also made a significant contribution.
In the Non-Resident Income Tax, gross revenue increased by 15.7%. These revenues are primarily linked to withholding taxes on capital gains and, therefore, to the performance of dividends, which, as mentioned, performed very positively in 2024.
Gross income from VAT grew by 5.2%. Final expenditure subject to tax increased by around 6%, with similar increases across all components. Another factor explaining this figure's performance in 2024 was the gradual elimination of interest rate cuts on energy products, which increased revenue by more than 1.1 billion euros.
Gross revenue from excise taxes grew by 6.6%. It should be noted that the Electricity Tax, which had been in place since September 2021, was reinstated in 2024, when the rate was reduced from 5.11% to 0.5% to offset some of the price increases. In addition, 2024 included the twelve months of the Non-Reusable Plastic Packaging Tax, introduced in 2023. The main tax item in this group, the Hydrocarbon Tax, increased by 1.9%, an improvement from the beginning of the year that was consolidated after the summer, albeit with fluctuations. Revenue from the Tobacco Tax increased by 3.1%, the reason for the increase, as in 2023, being higher prices, although, in any case, lower than before. Alcohol taxes saw a small increase of 0.3%, which does not allow for the full recovery of the losses from 2023. Revenue from the Non-Reusable Plastic Packaging Tax increased by 9%, although excluding the additional month in 2024 compared to 2023, revenue was roughly the same in both years.
In revenue from taxes and other Chapter III revenue, collections grew by 8.9%, 231 million more than in 2023. Of these, 130 correspond to fees, almost half coming exclusively from the Public Radio Domain Tax.
Table 12. Total gross tax collection (Annex).