The Tax Agency's Prevention, Investigation and Verification activities for the current fiscal year
The Tax Agency has been placing increasing emphasis on control and prevention measures in the fight against tax fraud.
As a result, 4 lines of action are configured:
- Prevention;
- The investigation and verification;
- Control during the collection phase;
- Collaboration with the Administrations of the Autonomous Communities.
1. How will the Tax Agency promote the Prevention of Tax Fraud?
It aims to encourage taxpayers to prioritize the use of new technologies (electronic certificate, Cl@ve Pin, reference number, CSV…) to achieve greater efficiency.
The new Immediate Information Supply System (SII) has also been implemented, which allows a two-way relationship to promote voluntary and instantaneous compliance with obligations.
The use of the online tax return system and telephone assistance for tax return campaigns will continue.
And finally, the mobile application will be improved and enhanced.
2. What measures will the AEAT implement in the area of Investigation and Verification?
I. New sources of information and technological advances obtained from the statements submitted and supplementing said information with that obtained by the National Fraud Investigation Office.
In this way, for example, the information is obtained through form 720 (ownership of assets and rights abroad or the Agreement between Spain and the United States of America).
The implementation of the SII also improves control, review and guarantees administrative action by the Administration by detecting inconsistencies in the data.
Additionally, the automatic exchange of financial account information has been launched as a new global standard for transparency (account information from more than 49 jurisdictions).
For multinational groups, information will also be obtained through "Country by country" starting in June 2018. This complies with the new international standards derived from the BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) project.
II. Control of internal taxes:
- In multinational groups and large companies with the aim of ending VAT tax avoidance (through BEPS): avoid abuses in transfer pricing, actions and aggressive tax planning, detection and tax regularization of permanent establishments (focused on determining their existence) and verify compliance with valuation rules for the taxation of operations carried out with residents in tax havens.
- The Spanish Tax Agency will conduct asset analysis to detect hidden assets, rights, and undeclared income. It will utilize information provided by various countries and spontaneous communications from other states to identify concealed assets. It will also investigate cases of concealment through opaque corporate structures or products managed in territories classified as tax havens.
- Reviews and investigations will be carried out to detect income concealment, monitoring of legal entities that serve as instruments to channel income from individuals to reduce taxation, increased presence in sectors of the underground economy, verification of companies lacking a real productive structure, analysis of related companies to evaluate the operations carried out, and analysis of new business models (digital economy “gig economy”) to ensure correct taxation and that their activity does not distort prices or involve fraud on the Internet.
III. Control of customs fraud.
Fraud prevention in this area is carried out using the Single Customs Window IT system, where controls will be performed in a single location and at the same time. Furthermore, a reassessment will be conducted of authorizations granted before May 1, 2019, in accordance with the Union Customs Code (UCC).
During 2018, priority will be given to controls within customs areas (additional inspections of goods through physical examinations and scanners, and monitoring of travelers' cash movements); compliance with the conditions for obtaining Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) status (solvency requirements, security, etc.) will be verified and reassessed; controls will also be carried out at goods storage facilities, such as customs warehouses and authorizations for special regimes. Furthermore, once goods have entered the country, controls on the goods' origin, classification, and declared value will be verified. Other actions to be undertaken by the Administration include investigating consumer products of Asian origin, detecting concealment of the commercial supply chain, and monitoring excise duties.
In the next article we will analyze measures in the collection phase and through collaboration between Administrations.
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A graduate in Business Administration from the University of Barcelona, she supplemented her studies with courses in customer service and corporate tax. While working and studying, she worked in sales and teller operations at La Caixa d'Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona (now Caixabank) in 2007. From 2010, she worked as an advisor and accountant at Fiscalsegur and PKF Asesores. In March 2017, she joined Àmbit Assessor, SL as a tax and accounting consultant.
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