The mission of the Tax Agency is to promote and ensure compliance with the tax system in an equitable manner, favouring the development of Spanish society. To achieve this, the Tax Agency considers it essential to promote voluntary compliance with tax obligations, and it devotes a large part of its efforts and innovations to this end.

As a result of these efforts and innovations, the Tax Agency began to apply the approach behavioural insights. This approach is based on evidence to understand that there is a set of factors – individual, social and environmental – that influence people's decisions and behaviors.

Over the past decade, the use of the approach behavioural insights se ha extendido por todo el mundo, desde el sector público al privado. En el ámbito de las Administraciones tributarias del Comité de Asuntos Fiscales de la OCDE, el 73 % de las mismas manifiesta que los behavioural insights are part of their strategic plan, and around a third are using them.

The use by the Tax Agency of the approach behavioural insights It is aimed at analyzing and understanding the behavior of taxpayers when they have to interact with the Administration, for example, when they have to read a letter or when they have to complete a tax form such as the Income Tax return.

Focus behavioural insights It is aimed at making it easier for taxpayers to comply with their obligations. To understand this better, think about sanctions; Traditionally, the sanctioning system has been used not only to punish "deliberate or culpable actions or omissions with any degree of negligence" classified as infractions, but also to dissuade taxpayers from engaging in such behavior. The novelty lies in considering that the taxpayer's behavior is richer, there are a multitude of factors that determine how we behave.

Applications of the approach behavioural insights They are aimed at facilitating a behavior, such as simplifying the steps required to submit a tax form, or avoiding unwanted errors, inviting reflection in the face of discrepancies. They are therefore working techniques that are more efficient and less burdensome for the taxpayer, which combine assistance and control, encouraging voluntary decisions by taxpayers themselves, adopted with due information, and not necessarily administrative procedures, to determine their improvement in tax compliance.

Some of the new features introduced in the application of the approach behavioural insights are as follows:

• In the area of ​​Tax Management, within the scope of Personal Income Tax (IRPFABBR), taxpayers are advised that, when modifying some tax data relating to employment income provided in their Income Tax return, they may make mistakes in the presentation, avoiding unwanted errors that could later lead to intervention by the Tax Agency.

• In all functional areas (Management, Inspection, Collection and Customs) the possibilities of improving and simplifying the wording of the most frequently issued documents are being analyzed, so that they are more understandable and simpler for their recipients.

Focus behavioural insights It offers a richer perspective, with more tools and applications, to contribute to the mission of the Tax Agency, promoting voluntary compliance with tax obligations.