Tax Agency against fraud 2018

The SII and the new information on financial accounts will be key pillars in the AEAT's fight against fraud.

Annual Tax Control Plan Guidelines

Intensive use of data analysis technologies, coupled with CRS and SII information and the consolidation of other sources such as 720, creates a scenario of greater difficulty in concealment and easier detection of fraudulent conduct.

The AEAT will develop risk analysis models to optimize the information on international groups that it will begin to receive from June through the so-called' Country by Country Report' (CBC)
Following the first inspections linked to the new tool for the selection of large assets, in 2018 control will be reinforced from more than fifty predefined tax risks.

The tax control strategy is aimed at improving voluntary compliance and broadening and consolidating the tax bases declared by taxpayers.
In the area of tax collection, the induced effect on the spontaneous medium- and long-term compliance of taxpayers will be sought and the control of large debtors will be strengthened through permanent and exhaustive patrimonial research.

Two new sources of information, the Immediate Provision of Information (SII) on VAT and financial accounts data from dozens of jurisdictions through the CRS project of the OECD, will be from this year onwards essential pillars in the fight of the Tax Agency against fraud, as evidenced by its Tax Control Plan 2018, whose general guidelines are published today in the Official State Gazette.

The use of information from the SII and CRS, as well as the consolidation of other sources incorporated in recent years (model 720 of goods and rights abroad, analysis of data declared in model 750 and the FATCA Agreement on Spanish residents who hold accounts in the United States, among others) lead to the development of a comprehensive strategy that provides an important boost in the exploitation of information through the intensive use of data analysis technologies.

The sum of this technology and the new sources of information opens a scenario of greater difficulty for concealment and easier detection of fraudulent conduct, so that the strategy of tax control of the AEAT is directed towards an improvement in voluntary compliance of taxpayers and a widening and consolidation of their declared tax bases.

Large assets and concealment of activity

CRS information will be particularly useful for the detection of hidden income and assets abroad by large estates, an area of control in which inspections have already been initiated in connection with the new IT taxpayer selection tool created last year to analyze the value of the real estate of individuals holding significant estates and to improve the definition of their associated tax risks.

Over the course of 2018, control will be reinforced from more than fifty predefined fiscal risks through the new selection tool and focused on cases with significant opacity or delocalization features. In addition, the research activity will continue to be essential for the detection of hidden income and assets in tax havens or territories with restrictions on the exchange of information, and for the location of assets and rights in Spain in cases of simulation of tax residence abroad.

In turn, the implementation of the IIS will facilitate the control of business and professional activities totally or partially hidden, adding this potential of permanent information on commercial transactions to dynamics and control strategies already common in the fight against the underground economy, such as coordinated operations of entry and registration with computer audit units, or the detection of external signs of wealth.

Multinationals and large companies

The first exchange, from June 2018, of information on the essential magnitudes of global activity of multinational groups, through the so-called' Country by Country Report' (CBC), will make it possible to optimise the risk analysis of these large groups in order to detect, regularise and redirect tax avoidance practices.

At the same time, AEAT will continue to correct the elusive practices of multinationals in accordance with the OECD's BEPS (Base Erosion and Transfer of Profits) risk areas in areas such as the abusive use of transfer pricing policies (intra-group) or aggressive tax planning structures, and will promote the detection and regularization of permanent establishments belonging to non-resident entities with instrumental operating structures in Spain.

Analysis of new business models

Internet research and the collection of information related to new models of economic activity remains a priority for the Tax Agency, not only to ensure fair taxation but also to avoid discriminatory practices in relation to traditional forms of work.

In this respect, particular attention will be paid to new models of electronic service delivery and distribution, information systems will be adapted to take account of the growth of payment systems such as electronic wallets and instantaneous transfers, and control over manufacturers and providers of online services will be maintained.

In addition to all of the above, there are other controls that the AEAT has traditionally considered to be priorities, in areas such as VAT and hydrocarbon schemes, artificial division of activity, or the use of front men and shell companies.

In the case of foreign trade, actions will be carried out to re-evaluate the conditions for access to the status of Authorised Economic Operator and authorisations for the application of simplified customs procedures, and checks and combined investigations will be established on imports of consumer products, textiles and other Asian products.

Repression of smuggling and laundering

With regard to the suppression of smuggling and drug trafficking, the material means and control measures in the Strait of Gibraltar area will be particularly strengthened and regulatory measures will be considered to limit the use of high-speed vessels commonly used by drug trafficking organizations.

Similarly, the fight against the introduction of narcotic drugs into ports will be intensified by organizations that use the maritime traffic of legal goods in containers. In turn, control will be strengthened over all links in the chain of illicit tobacco trade, especially in the case of smuggling of minced tobacco leaf, to detect illicit operations and enhance criminal network investigations.

For their part, the Tax Agency's research units will promote the use of new information gathering and analysis technologies in all types of open networks to curb the eventual use of the so-called deep web and cryptomonedas by organized crime for trafficking and trade in all types of illegal goods.

Induced Effect on Revenue

In the Collection Area, the Tax Agency will define its actions seeking the induced effect of executive collection management, in order to influence the spontaneous compliance of taxpayers. In addition, in 2018, systematic control of large debtors will be a priority action of the AEAT, as well as an exhaustive and permanent investigation of their assets.

The aim is also to promote the use of the information provided by the IIS, since its immediacy makes it possible to improve both the effectiveness of embargoes and their ex post control. Similarly, as in previous years, the Revenue Department will promote the adoption of precautionary measures, derivations of liability and patrimonial investigations to guarantee the collection of tax debts, and permanent control will be maintained to continue reducing the outstanding debt, especially the debt in foreclosure phase.