Directives of the Annual Tax Control Plan

• The new information and assistance model will be implemented, with a complete list of available services and the channels available for each one, along with the new appointment application that improves its usability
• The 'combing' to detect the underground economy will be promoted, especially in the property rehabilitation and renovation sector, as well as for the identification of sales concealment software
• Control over virtual collections through entities or applications located abroad will be strengthened
• Cryptocurrency research will be strengthened to locate assets susceptible to seizure and discover links to criminal networks
• New technology will be introduced to monitor vessels engaged in illicit maritime traffic and detect contraband in postal parcels

February 27, 2023 .- This year, the Tax Agency will promote control over citizens residing in Spain who declare their income through the Non-Resident Income Tax, the IRNR, to reduce artificially their tax bill, given that in addition to having lower tax rates than personal income tax, in this way they only pay taxes in our country on the income generated in it, instead of having to declare all their worldwide income.

The initiative to strengthen the control of this variant of fraud by false non-residents appears in the general guidelines of the 2023 Tax Control Plan published today in the Official State Gazette, which also emphasizes the need to maintain control activity in the simulation assumptions of residence in CCAA different from the real one, as well as in the exploitation of the information available on real owners of opaque companies with high-level residential properties. Likewise, specific plans will be executed in relation to the indirect ownership of real estate by non-residents, for the purposes of their correct property taxation.

Promotion of voluntary compliance

Along with the usual development of the priorities that the Tax Agency will have in the new year in terms of tax control, the Control Plan guidelines point out as one of the main novelties for 2023 the implementation of a new information and assistance model in which Most services are provided through all channels and citizens decide how they want to be served, depending on the type of service and available resources.

To do this, a complete list of the services provided by the Agency and the assistance channels available for each of them will be defined. The service letter will be accompanied by a new online appointment application that will use more understandable language and improve its usability.

Work will also be done on strengthening and improving in-person care for older people or people who may be affected by the digital divide.

Within the scope of fraud prevention, the intention stands out to continue reducing the number of non-filers of personal income tax through warning campaigns during the declaration period, or carrying out an early control when new taxpayers enter the tax census and, in particular, when it comes to entities effectively controlled by taxpayers with reprehensible tax conduct in the past, which are intended to be monitored to prevent possible future tax non-compliance.

Another of the novelties projected for 2023 is the review of sanctioning procedures, especially in those cases of presentation of self-assessments without late income, which do not cause economic damage to the Tax Administration.

Electronic payments and digital economy

Among the priorities in terms of tax control included in the 2023 Guidelines is the reinforcement of actions in relation to owners of economic activities that make use of the so-called 'virtual payments', and specifically with the use of electronic payment methods filed abroad through entities that do not participate in national obligations to provide financial information.

Along these lines, an attempt will be made to obtain information, within the framework of EU regulations, on digital payments made through entities or applications whose headquarters and servers are located abroad.

The guidelines also make special reference to the investigation of the use of virtual currencies, given that, along with the usual mentions of the need to verify their correct taxation, this year the intention of the Collection Area to enhance localization actions is highlighted. of cryptoassets susceptible to embargo.

In turn, the Customs Surveillance Service will develop a research plan associated with the use of cryptocurrencies in the field of the digital economy with the purpose of detecting assets whose origin may be linked to criminal activities.

International taxation

The work of the Central Delegation of Large Taxpayers and the different territorial delegations, with the support of the National Office of International Taxation and its design of a '360 strategy' on transfer pricing, has made it possible to intensify control in recent years. on the fiscal risks that arise from incorrect pricing of related-party transactions in multinationals.

The growing number of inspection actions in this area will be reinforced by the planned boost of joint inspections with other tax administrations and complemented by a search for long-term compliance through the signing of prior valuation agreements.

Likewise, the focus will be maintained on the identification of structures and patterns of behavior that unduly benefit from the low taxation of certain territories, tax regimes or structures, and that are or can be replicated or standardized for use by a plurality of taxpayers.

Combating the underground economy

Throughout 2023, the Tax Agency will strengthen control over sectors and business models in which there is a high risk of the existence of an underground economy. Thus, traditional visits or tax 'combing' will be promoted in relation to multiple sectors, although with a special focus on activities related to the construction, rehabilitation and renovation of properties.

Within the framework of the new regulations on the prohibition of sales concealment software, specific plans will also be deployed focused on the identification of management and accounting software tools used by businesses and companies, as well as verifying the consistency of computer programs. with the applicable regulations.

Improper use of tax credits

Together with other actions of preferential attention that have been included in the Guidelines of previous years, such as those aimed at avoiding the abusive use of legal personality to channel income and divert expenses of natural persons, or those referring to the verification of instrumental entities for the Issuance of irregular invoices to be used by operating companies, the Agency will once again focus on the verification of negative tax bases, tax credits based on base or quota pending to be offset or applied.

The analysis of structures such as Economic Interest Groups stands out in those cases in which they have served as vehicles to transfer and market tax benefits to third-party investors. This analysis and verification will be extended to the participants or partners of the intermediary entities and will especially address the serial sale of these structures for taking advantage of tax benefits, when they deviate from the law, are clearly abusive or are based on factual budgets. simulated or artificially inflated.

In any case, the Agency will ensure that the application of the deductions provided for in the Corporate Tax are linked to the development of real activities aimed at the purposes provided for in the regulation, as well as that the amounts that have been applied as bases of the deduction correspond to the expenses actually incurred in its execution, avoiding abuse in the possible transfer of tax benefits to the financiers of the activities that the regulations intend to promote.

New figures

The guidelines also emphasize that the Tax Agency will be the body in charge of implementing this year the two new temporary taxes on energy and on credit institutions and financial credit establishments, as well as the temporary solidarity tax on large fortunes. The Agency will, therefore, assume the powers of levy, management, verification and collection with respect to these two temporary levies, despite being a non-tax public property benefit, and will exercise the powers that are its own with respect to the tax. time of great fortunes.

Joint investigations and European Public Prosecutor's Office

Both for the VAT fraud area of the National Investigation and Fraud Office, the ONIF, and for the investigations of the most serious frauds in customs matters, all the possibilities offered by the creation of the European Prosecutor's Office, a supranational criminal body, will be promoted. which is representing real progress in carrying out joint research with other countries in the European Union.

Repression of smuggling and drug trafficking

In relation to the prevention and repression of smuggling, drug trafficking and money laundering, during the year 2023 the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency will develop actions aimed at neutralizing organized crime activities, acting comprehensively against logistical, financial and patrimonial structures of criminal networks.

In the area of the fight against smuggling and drug trafficking, work will be done on the implementation of new technologies that allow monitoring and detecting anomalous behavior of vessels engaged in illicit maritime traffic. At the same time, operational activity will continue in relation to the supply chain of the 'drug boats' and, in the case of irregular tobacco trade, progress is expected in the field of prevention from the development of regulations. control over raw tobacco and its sanctioning regime.

At the same time, with regard to protection against unfair or illicit trade, the possibilities of applying advanced data analysis tools to the world of detecting contraband in postal parcels will be explored.

Control of fraud in the collection phase

Along with the extension of the analysis of collection risks to new asset manifestations, the 2023 Guidelines highlight the importance of strengthening international cooperation for the collection of tax credits through greater exploitation of information exchanges with other administrations and the improvement of tools that allow a selection of debtors with signs of wealth abroad, especially within the EU.

At the same time, permanent priorities are maintained in the area of Collection, such as the taking of precautionary measures to avoid asset depletion, the adoption of liability derivations to ensure the effective collection of debts, or the monitoring of debtors convicted of crimes, and the use of advanced data processing and analysis tools will also be promoted, especially in the area of large debtors, to quickly and efficiently detect patterns of complex collection fraud on which to focus and direct actions.