Directives of the Annual Tax Control Plan

• Interventions will be reinforced by in person with computer audit units in companies in economic sectors that are intensive in cash management.
• The investigation of assets and income hidden abroad will be supported by new tools that improve the treatment of available information on financial movements and operations of non-residents
• Specific risk analyzes will be carried out on e-commerce operators and additional information will be available on their positioning in the sector.
• The AEAT will carry out immediate actions to verify and analyze the information provided by companies within the framework of the Code of Good Tax Practices

 

February 22, 2016.- Strengthening the fight against the underground economy and investigating assets and income that may be hidden abroad will be basic pillars of the 2016 Tax Control Plan , whose guidelines are published tomorrow in the Official State Gazette.

Control actions in the field of international tax planning and electronic commerce will also be fundamental lines of the plan, areas in which the Tax Agency will have a reinforcement of taxpayer selection and control tools. Likewise, the fight against fraud in the Collection area will also be reinforced with a strategy focused on extending the management actions for the collection of outstanding debt to a greater number of taxpayers by detecting cases of responsibility and ensuring effective collection of debts.

Control over the underground economy

In 2016, the Tax Agency will maintain the execution of a coordinated strategy to combat the underground economy through the empowerment of personnel from the computer audit units (UAI) in the headquarters where economic activity is carried out. Last year, the charges discovered after actions with the UAI totaled 289 million euros, 51% more than the previous year and 8.5 times more than in 2012.

Specifically, selective actions coordinated at the national level will be reinforced to detect hidden activity through the so-called “concealment software”, or “dual-use software”, especially in companies that are intensive in cash management, both for making sales to final consumers, as well as being part of the distribution chain to other companies that sell to the public.

Likewise, in-person actions aimed at analyzing billing and payment methods will be maintained in order to verify the effectiveness of compliance with the limitation on cash payments established in the Anti-Fraud Law of 2012. Actions will also continue on individuals who opaquely transfer homes online or other means, as well as on regular tourism companies that do not properly comply with their tax obligations and on the area of importing goods.

Investigation of assets abroad intensifies

The 2016 Control Plan dedicates a specific section to the control of assets and income that may be hidden abroad. The information for these purposes provided by form 720 for the declaration of assets and rights abroad will continue to be a basic pillar for the search for relocated assets, but starting this year the information that the Agency begins to receive through of the US FATCA initiative on foreign accounts, already in operation, and later on third countries (CRS agreement for the exchange of information on financial accounts signed by Spain and 78 tax jurisdictions, and working groups within the European Union for the automatic exchange of information – AEOI).

In anticipation of this relevant information for control that will become available, the Tax Agency has created new computer tools that will allow a reorganization and better treatment and exploitation of information on financial accounts, currency movements and also on operations related to non-residents.

In this context, one of the actions of special relevance will be the exploitation of the information received spontaneously from other EU Member States in relation to taxpayers residing in Spain, for the execution of verifications of the worldwide income of the taxpayers. .

At the same time, inspections related to form 720 remain open, both due to non-submission and existence of indications of concealment of assets, and due to lack of consistency of the assets and rights included in the declaration with the rest of the available information related to their tax situation. or patrimonial.

International tax schemes

At the same time, and in the field of international taxation, traditional basic lines of action are maintained, such as, for example, the use of 'hybrid' instruments (with different tax treatment in Spain and in a third country), the detection of establishments permanent or transfer pricing analysis.

The information provided by companies within the framework of the Code of Good Tax Practices will also take on special importance in aspects such as their degree of presence in tax havens or the degree of congruence of their tax decisions with the principles of the BEPS package (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) of the OECD.

In relation to this and other matters included in the Conclusions relating to the development and monitoring of the application of the Code of Good Practices approved in the Plenary Session of the Large Companies Forum last November, once the information has been received from the companies, the area The Agency's Inspection Department will carry out immediate verification and analysis actions to carry out the control activities that are appropriate.

The search for internet fraud

In relation to the digital economy, action protocols will be carried out both in companies that carry out electronic commerce, as well as in those that host their data in the cloud, and tax checks will be carried out on businesses that operate through the network, as well as of the benefits obtained by companies that advertise goods and services on the Internet.

Among other actions, an analysis of specific risks of electronic commerce operators will be established and additional information will be obtained on their positioning in the sector in aspects such as the degree of connection between companies or their position as intermediaries. Information on operators considered at risk will also be systematized, such as, for example, their domain names and indicators of their status as advertisers.

On the other hand, the improper use of companies to channel income and reduce taxation of natural persons, professional activities, external signs of wealth for the purposes of detecting undeclared income, the issuance of irregular invoices and organized VAT fraud schemes. Likewise, control of income declared exempt is reinforced, which entails tax-deductible expenses for payers.

Extension of collection management

In the Collection area, the management of the debt pending collection on a greater number of taxpayers will be developed, promoting the derivations of responsibility and, where appropriate, the appropriate judicial actions to combat the operations of patrimonial emptying of special significance and the cases of punishable insolvency.

In addition, collection management will be streamlined in cases of evidence of tax crime and smuggling, in accordance with the possibilities offered by the reform of the General Tax Law, and precautionary measures will be reinforced to strengthen the collection of debts. investigations of financial movements and the management of both debts in the embargo phase and those affected by bankruptcy processes, promoting, at the same time, the viability of companies.

In terms of Customs and Excise control, actions for the detection of tobacco smuggling will continue to be of special relevance, highlighting the repression of new production and introduction techniques in Spain, controls will be reinforced in customs areas for travelers and goods from of lower tax areas, and tools will be developed to facilitate investigations into large criminal organizations in matters of money laundering.