2022 balance of tax control results

• More than 3,400 million in regularized tax bases after 117 inspection verifications on the international taxation of large multinationals

• Debt amounting to 546 million euros has been settled in 1,130 verifications carried out on large assets

• The total debt pending collection falls by 3.8% and is at its lowest level in 13 years

• In 2022, 16,675 million euros have been obtained as a result of the control work – 15,362 million in homogeneous terms, 2.7% more –, of which 10,536 million correspond to direct income, 16.6% more

• The Agency has reduced negative bases, deductions pending application and fees to be compensated for an amount of 3,860 million, 50% of which correspond to actions of the Central Delegation of Large Taxpayers

August 1, 2023 .- In 2022, the Tax Agency carried out a total of 39,366 nominal control actions related to large companies, assets of natural persons, corporate abuses and the fight against the economy submerged, 7.6% more than the previous year. Specifically, and within these actions that consume a high amount of resources, also characterized by their high qualification, 29,394 actions were carried out on large companies, multinationals and corporate groups, 8.9% more; 2,971 of asset and corporate analysis (+2.5%); and 5,594 in relation to the concealment of activity and abuse of corporate forms (+5.2%). The figure of 39,366 verifications is completed with 1,407 actions that have allowed hidden sales to emerge within the framework of the control of economic activities (the rest of the sales discovery actions are already included in the two previous headings).

These results are part of all the control activity carried out by the Tax Agency in 2022, which concluded with 1,889,000 internal tax control actions, 5.2% more than the previous year and 16.1% more than in 2020, also exceeding pre-pandemic levels in practically all major types of actions.

Collection results

In global collection terms, and as a consequence of its work in preventing and fighting fraud, in 2022 the Agency obtained homogeneous results of 15,362 million euros (16,675 million in total), 2.7% more than the previous year . These homogeneous results do not include the files of reduction of installment payments (1,313 million euros in 2022 and 1,940 million in 2021), which will be difficult to repeat in the future and, therefore, prevent a homogeneous comparison of the series.

Within these global figures, the direct income achieved by the Tax Agency in its control actions stands out, which has increased by 16.6% to reach 10,536 million euros. In turn, induced income (extemporaneous declarations without prior requirement) has grown by 7.8% to 813 million euros.

The reductions in refunds without the extraordinary payments in installments fell to 4,013 million euros (-22.3%), given that last year the results of a series of files from the Customs and IIEE Area were significantly reduced (which went from 3,255 to 1,641 million euros), also difficult to repeat over time. Without the effect of both types of files (instalment payments and Customs), the ordinary result of refund reductions would grow by 24.2% to reach 2,372 million euros.

The Tax Agency also made reductions in negative tax bases, tax deductions pending application and fees to be offset, in the amount of 3,860 million euros, of which 50% corresponds to actions by the Central Delegation of Large Taxpayers. These are very relevant actions (8,800 million in the last two years) that, although they do not count in the control results, as they do not involve income or reduction of returns, they are of great importance in widening future tax bases and increasing collection. .

International taxation

In the field of international taxation of large multinational companies, last year the Tax Agency regularized tax bases for an amount of 3,409 million euros in a total of 117 inspection checks carried out by the Central Delegation of Large Taxpayers and the other delegations of the Agency with the support of the National Office of International Taxation (ONFI). The amount of these regularized tax bases is in line with the average of the previous three years.

In turn, ONFI participated in 2022 in the management of 28 Prior Valuation Agreements (APA) with estimated results – the same figure as the previous year – which means guaranteeing future tax bases for an amount of more than 2,700 million euros.

Large assets and false non-residents

In parallel, last year the Agency carried out a total of 1,130 control actions from its different delegations on large assets of natural persons, in line with the previous year, actions that led to debt settlement for an amount of 546 million. Since 2018 – the year of creation of the Central Coordination Unit for the Control of Relevant Assets – until 2022, more than 2,400 million euros have been settled in this area in more than 4,400 verification files.

In addition to supporting the settlements of large fortunes that are carried out in each territorial area of the Agency, the Unit has been promoting various projects to continue strengthening and updating the control systems in this field. One of them is the tool to facilitate the detection of false non-residents with relevant assets. In 2022, the verifications initiated reach 252 taxpayers, and of these actions have been completed for a total settled amount of 28.2 million euros on 97 taxpayers who were artificially located in other countries, and for whom it has been determined that they actually had effective residence in Spain.

The relevance of information from abroad

In recent years, the Agency's various delegations have seen their capacity for action on undeclared income reinforced by successive European directives on the automatic exchange of information, standardized OECD mechanisms and other agreements.

Last year, the inspection control on taxpayers for whom information on financial accounts abroad has been received through the European 'DAC2' directive, the OECD CRS standard and the 'Fatca' agreement with the US allowed the settlement of 201 million of euros (52.3% more) to 488 taxpayers, so that since 2017, the year in which this information began to be received, the Agency's Inspection area has already settled 963 million to 2,768 taxpayers.

Also in order to reveal hidden funds abroad, the information collected by the National Fraud Investigation Office (ONIF) of the Inspection Department on the use of cards issued abroad (offshore cards) has allowed the different territorial agencies of the Agency to settle debt amounting to 79 million euros last year, a figure similar to that of the previous year, at the same time that files affecting 69 taxpayers with 'offshore' cards were registered and that will offer additional results in the future .

ONIF investigations

The above data on 'offshore' cards are part of the results, in terms of debt settlement, that occur as a consequence of part of the ONIF's annual activity. Within this activity, the preparation of the so-called 'FITT' files (Information Files with Tax Significance) stands out, which the Office transfers to the different delegations of the Tax Agency for the possible regularization of tax contingencies. Last year, ONIF sent 353 FITT files for analysis. In turn, those sent in recent years made it possible for the Agency's delegations to settle a total of 535 million euros to 410 taxpayers in 2022, including a specific large-value file.

Submerged economy

At the same time, last year the Agency has continued to maintain its control activity to reveal hidden economic activity. In 2022, it carried out 2,312 inspection actions under different verification programs (the already mentioned 1,407 in the field of control of economic activities and the rest in other programs) in which it discovered hidden sales, regularizing fees for an amount of 435 million euros, a 8.8% more than the previous year.

In the same period, fees and penalties amounting to 122 million euros were settled in more than 2,600 inspection reports for a thousand taxpayers who had previously been subject to entry and registration actions with the support of the Computer Audit Units, the UAI . Last year, these units participated in more than 1,500 actions with computer dumps that facilitate the discovery of hidden income, improve the obtaining of evidence and reduce the duration of verifications.

This activity affects atomized actions throughout the national territory, including those carried out within the large macro-operations coordinated with entries and records that are being developed for the discovery of hidden economic activity and the detection of concealment software. sales in specific sectors of activity. As a consequence of these macro-operations developed for a decade (already a total of 21 until last year), and adding the 15.7 million settled in 2022, the global balance of these actions amounts to 386 million euros settled in more than 2,000 files.

The inspection verification actions in the field of the fight against the underground economy are complemented by the visit plan. In 2022, the Agency carried out more than 29,000 in-person actions ('combs') aimed at on-site control in sectors and areas of fiscal risk. Among these actions are almost 9,800 related to the 'VAT Visit Plan' and almost 1,800 complementary visits to the sectoral entry and registration macro-operations.

On the other hand, and in relation to the control of submerged rents, the induced effect of sending tax data notices to alleged landlords during the latest Income Tax campaigns continues to stand out. Taking into account both the complete effect in the initial year of each notice, as well as the marginal impact in each year of previous campaigns, in the last six years these notices have favored the incorporation of more than 1,182,000 declarations that include returns on capital real estate, with a greater declared tax base of more than 7,700 million euros and a collection associated with these campaigns that is estimated at 933 million euros.

Collection control

Regarding the necessary control to ensure the collection of debts, the Agency's Collection Area has continued to promote the most qualified actions to achieve effective collection of settlements and fight against fraud in the collection phase. The total outstanding debt was reduced by 3.8% last year to reach the lowest level in the last 13 years.

By type of actions, the growth in liability referrals stands out (31,313, +7.7%), continuing the trend of recent years, in which an effort has been made to increase actions of this nature, sometimes of great magnitude. complexity and importance. Likewise, and with the same objective of strengthening the effective collection of debts, 4,797 precautionary measures have been adopted, 5% less than in 2021 but 27.6% more than two years ago.

The combined effect of both tools has allowed the collection of debts amounting to 1,036 million euros last year, 45% more than the previous year.

At the same time, the growth in judicial actions continues (1,101, +6.3% over 2021 and +90% compared to 2020) brought last year to collect debts. These actions judicialize the demand for collection in especially serious situations of apparent insolvencies, uprisings and, in general, complex concealment practices.

In turn, the number of investigation files on financial movements reached 65,210 last year, in line with the results of two years ago. These actions pursue the use of fraudulent figures such as the interposition of companies or the use of front men.

For their part, the information or embargo requirements requested from foreign authorities for debt collection (a total of 1,806 requirements) decreased by 8% compared to 2021, but were 6.1% above 2020 levels. . The usual presence of officials from the Collection Area has also been recovered, through visits and appearances, to carry out executive actions and obtain information. In 2022, 14,120 performances of these characteristics have been carried out, resuming the dynamics prior to the pandemic.

Fight against smuggling

During the past year, the usual control tasks of special and environmental taxes, customs control and in the field of smuggling, drug trafficking, money laundering and other economic crimes were also carried out. In terms of smuggling, more than 40 tons of cocaine and 83 tons of hashish were seized, and 6 million packs and 117 tons of crushed tobacco and other tobacco products were seized, while 1.1 million counterfeit products were seized.

In turn, the Tax Agency has maintained the usual activity of collaboration with the justice system and with other administrations at the national and international level, and the prevention of fraud has been promoted through information and assistance tools and cooperative forums in which the Agency participates.