In recent years, the need for information regarding the transformation that the economy is undergoing, mainly due to digitalization, has become evident. The Tax Administrations, aware of the importance of national and international information, are trying to agree on models for obtaining information that facilitate the exchange between Tax Administrations.

This economic-tax panorama has led the Spanish Tax Administration to create and update certain information obligations that imply an equitable treatment of taxpayers regardless of the type of activity carried out and the national or international scope in which they work.

As a consequence of these circumstances and objectives, we can summarize the following developments in terms of information obligations that will allow for the availability and exchange of essential tax information for the assistance and control of material tax obligations:

• Information obligations for platform operators arising from “DAC 7”:

  Law 13/2023, of May 24, which modifies Law 58/2003, of December 17, General Tax, in transposition of Council Directive (EU) 2021/514 of March 22, 2021 ( DAC7), and its regulatory development approved in Royal Decree 117/2024, of January 30, enable the approval of the “Informative declaration for the communication of information by platform operators” (form 238). This new information statement will provide information on the income earned by sellers who use digital platforms to make their sales. This information will be provided by platform operators on an annual basis and will be exchangeable between Member States and partner jurisdictions (OECD level). The sellers for whom they must provide information, without prejudice to certain excluded cases, will be those for whom a platform provides in one year: or more than 30 relevant activities (reportable activities) or relevant activities for which the total amount of consideration paid or credited is equal to or greater than EUR 2,000.

• Information obligation on cross-border payments (CESOP):

  With effect from January 1, 2024, article 166 quater of Law 37/1992, of December 28, on Value Added Tax (introduced with Law 11/2023, of May 8, which transposes Council Directive (EU) 2020/284, of February 18, 2020) and article 81 bis of the Value Added Tax Regulation, which establishes the obligation of payment service providers whose State home or host member is the Kingdom of Spain to submit a declaration regarding the records they are required to maintain on cross-border payments.

  This new reporting obligation is reflected in the “Information declaration on cross-border payments”, form 379. This declaration is issued quarterly and is also interchangeable with the other Member States. The content of this information statement will generally refer, in each calendar quarter, to the beneficiaries of more than 25 cross-border payments. This information statement will allow for greater control over cross-border sales operations to final consumers (B2C operations).

• Information statements on virtual currencies.

  Also in January 2024, the Tax Agency received information on virtual currencies for the first time for the 2023 financial year. These three reporting obligations originate from Law 11/2021, of July 9, on measures to prevent and combat tax fraud, and its regulatory development through Royal Decree 249/2023, of April 4. The three new reporting obligations on “virtual currencies” are:

  • “Informative declaration on balances in virtual currencies”, form 172.

  • “Informative declaration on operations with virtual currencies”, form 173.

    These two new information declarations regulated by articles 39 bis and ter of the RGAT respectively, must be submitted by persons and entities resident in Spain and permanent establishments in Spanish territory of persons or entities resident abroad, which provide services to safeguard private cryptographic keys on behalf of third parties, to maintain, store and transfer virtual currencies (model 172 for balances) and by the same entities that provide exchange services between virtual currencies and fiat currency or between different virtual currencies, mediate in any way in the performance of said operations or provide services to safeguard private cryptographic keys on behalf of third parties, to maintain, store and transfer virtual currencies (model 173 for operations).

  • “Informative declaration on virtual currencies located abroad”, form 721. Article 42 quater of the RGAT establishes this informative declaration that must be submitted by the holder (real owner) of virtual currencies located abroad. With certain exceptions to this obligation to declare, we can highlight that there is no obligation to declare if the balances of virtual currencies abroad as of December 31 of the reference year (in this case 12/31/2023) do not exceed 50,000 euros.

  While all these information statements have a marked “digital and international” character, we can also highlight the importance that national and material operations continue to have. An example, which we can highlight due to its recent public notoriety, is the already existing Informative Declaration on expenses in authorized nurseries or early childhood education centers (model 233).

  This informative statement arose from the need to verify the expenses in authorized nurseries or early childhood education centers that could generate, in accordance with the provisions of article 81.2 of the LIRPF, an increase in the deduction for maternity.  The aforementioned notoriety of this informative has its origin in the recent doctrine established by the Supreme Court Judgment of January 8, 2024, which determines that the expression "authorized nurseries or early childhood education centers" contained in article 81.2, paragraph 1, of the Personal Income Tax Law that conditions the applicability of the increase in the amount of the maternity deduction must be understood in the sense that the authorization required by the aforementioned precept to nurseries or early childhood education centers is not the one granted by the corresponding educational Administration, which will only be required for early childhood education centers, but the one that is necessary for the opening and operation of the activity of custody of minors in nurseries, according to the regulatory provisions applicable to this type of centers " .

  This interpretation may mean that the increase in the maternity deduction has a greater number of beneficiaries. The informative declaration, model 233, was until now only submitted by those centres that had authorisation from the educational Administration, and allowed tax data to be provided to beneficiaries, thus making it easier for them to complete the IRPF declaration. Therefore, in this first year of interpretative change, those nurseries that have been included because they have an opening and operating authorisation for the activity of child custody are invited to submit this informative declaration before the start of the Income Tax campaign so that their clients can have the correct tax data.

  This brief summary offers a new scenario of tax information, with the aim of adapting to a constantly evolving economic reality.