The Spanish tax control plan for 2022

The Annual Spanish Tax and Customs Plan details the measures to be taken by the Spanish tax authorities in FY 2022.

Along the same lines as in the previous year, the Plan lays out a model to assist taxpayers in their voluntary tax compliance as a measure to prevent fraud, while also strengthening the control measures against tax fraud.

In the area of Corporate income tax, the Plan reinforces auditing activities for companies with pending tax losses carried forward, companies included in areas of activity that were less harmed by the COVID context, companies involved in international transactions as well as in transfer prices agreed with related parties.

✔ In the area of information and assistance to tax payers, we highlight that:

• i. The so-called “Comprehensive Digital assistance Administrations” (“ADIs”) will be used as service platforms focused on providing information and online assistance;
• ii. The designing of an online Personal income tax “Renta” assistant will begin;
• iii. An online Census assistance will also be improved as a tool to formalize and file the census declaration; and,
• iv. In the VAT draft, the number of taxpayers that will benefit from aggregated books will be increased, facilitating the preparation of this tax return.

✔ In order to promote voluntary compliance:

• i. Specific measures will be taken to refine the taxpayers’ census. The specific inspection and management visiting plans carried out annually to assist large companies will include a unit to control and verify census information including the economic activity, the shareholders, the Directors and the domiciles where the activity is developed.
• ii. Advance Pricing Agreements for transfer pricing or cost/profit sharing will continue to be encouraged.

✔ During 2022, tax fraud prevention and assistance measures shall be reinforced, as well as control measures against tax fraud:

• i. A new technique based on OECD principles known as “Behavioural insights” will be used that consists of an intensive plan of visits to certain entrepreneurial sectors while also sending a number of letters of notification to taxpayers of selected sectors that comply with parameters of non-compliance risk.
• ii. The Spanish tax authorities will continue reviewing taxpayers that constantly have pending tax losses in their corporate income tax returns or pending tax credits.
• iii. New reporting obligations on crypto currencies introduced by Spanish regulations against tax fraud shall be developed and the corresponding tax returns shall be passed.
• iv. Multinational groups and big companies in economic sectors less harmed by the COVID context shall be the focus of future tax audits.

✔ All in all, this is a detailed plan that affects multiple sectors of activity and that follows the lines of action established by the Spanish tax office in its Strategic Plan 2020 – 2023, thus, continuing past initiatives.