This year 2022 marks 30 years since the establishment of the State Tax Administration Agency (Tax Agency). Trying to imagine the path to follow in the next 30 years is not only complex, but does not seem appropriate, since the priorities, challenges, opportunities and needs of the Tax Agency depend on very variable factors , such as the economic environment – national and international –, business models or technological advances. However, it is possible to plan for a more reasonable period of time. The Strategic Plan of the Tax Agency 2020-2023 responds to this purpose.

Presented in January 2020, the Strategic Plan establishes for the Tax Agency its priority objectives, the lines of action to achieve them and seven multi-annual indicators to measure its results in the medium term . This strategic planning serves as a management tool and, at the same time, provides a clear vision of what is to be achieved and how. Therefore, although it is a document prepared by the Tax Agency for the organization itself, it was published for free access and consultation, because the Strategic Plan also aims to promote transparency, governance and accountability of the Tax Agency.

The Strategic Plan is structured around an objective that underpins all planning: improving voluntary compliance with tax obligations . This strategic objective is a direct consequence of the task entrusted to the Tax Agency, the effective application of the state tax and customs system.

The Tax Agency's commitment is to ensure that this application of the state tax and customs system is carried out objectively and fairly and, to this end, the Strategic Plan establishes other objectives , among which we can highlight giving fair treatment to all taxpayers, without privileges of any kind; collaborate with taxpayers and assist them to improve their compliance, particularly those with fewer resources; reduce litigation by achieving greater legal certainty and combat tax fraud, especially by those who have the resources and means to try to avoid payment.

In order to establish these objectives and lines of action, the external and internal factors that condition the activity of the Tax Agency were evaluated. For this reason, the second, third and fourth sections of the Strategic Plan are dedicated to examining the national and international economic environment and the environment in which the Tax Agency's activity will develop – social perception of tax fraud, its measurement and the evolution of voluntary compliance – the human and material resources and the transversal services of the Tax Agency itself. In this line, the fifth section is dedicated to the ethical infrastructure and good governance , reiterating the duty of the Tax Agency to ensure that its actions continue to be guided by the values that make up the ethical code of public employees, such as objectivity, integrity and responsibility. In order to go beyond the existing regulations and demonstrate its commitment, the approval of a code of principles and conduct for the Tax Agency, a protocol for reporting malpractice and the creation of an Ethics Advisory Committee (created in 2021) are planned, which will support officials in the practical application in each case of the principles set out in the code of conduct.

The Strategic Plan then devotes sections six, seven and eight to developing the strategic indicators that will allow the achievement of the objectives pursued to be measured in the medium term, the backbone of the Tax Agency's actions for the period 2020-2023 and the process of applying the provisions of the Strategic Plan to the day-to-day operations of the Tax Agency, taking into account the taxpayers, the actions and the procedures developed.

The actions of the Tax Agency are mainly directed at the prevention of tax and customs fraud , through assistance and preventive actions. For example, by moving towards a new model of digital assistance, with virtual assistants and the so-called "Comprehensive Digital Assistance Administrations" (ADI), making more tax data available, promoting good practices in cooperative relationships or preventing tax fraud. These actions are complemented by the control of tax and customs fraud , consisting of verification and investigation actions, for example, through the development of computer tools that facilitate the analysis and detection of risks related to tax groups, ownership of large estates, aggressive tax planning or concealment of activity, as well as the fight against the underground economy with the standardization of business computer systems and the prohibition of the use of software for manipulation and suppression of sales (or dual use).

Finally, the ninth section explains how the strategic lines of this planning will be specified annually through the Annual Tax and Customs Control Plan and the Annual Objectives Plan , whose results in the 2021 financial year are included in this newsletter.