At the end of 2022, the number of major tax defaulters with balances exceeding 600,000 euros, including co-responsible parties, stood at six thousand seventy-six. This represented a 13.7% decrease from the previous year. The list published by the tax authorities includes only specific debts.
According to data released by the Tax Office on Friday, if the full roster is not disclosed by noon, these significant borrowers collectively owed 15.212 billion euros, down 14.1% from the prior period.
The Supreme Court issued decisions earlier in the year that introduced new criteria to exclude certain cases from the list even when amounts exceed 600,000 euros. Debts or sanctions may not be final, or the liquidation may relate to an offense without a definitive conviction.
Thus, exclusion from the list does not necessarily indicate that the tax due has been settled. It may reflect postponements, cancellations, expirations, or newly created statuses as determined by the Supreme Court.
On the tenth list, 630 new defaulters entered with a combined debt of 955 million euros that was not visible the previous year. Meanwhile 1,591 individuals exited the list with 3,135 million euros in debt after arrangements such as payments, deferrals, suspensions, or nonfinal qualifications.
The Tax Office noted that among those who left the list, 636 defaulters with a total debt of 1.479 billion euros left due to the new criteria. The Supreme Court applied the same reasoning to prevent 322 new defaulters, carrying 734 million euros, from appearing.
This criterion also helped reduce the total for 252 defaulters, lowering the combined debt by 255 million euros because some obligations were not yet finalized.
Most defaulters on the list are legal entities, accounting for 5,067 cases with 13.823 billion euros in debt, while individuals make up the remainder. There are 1,390 million euros of debt among individuals, with the list not specifying whether the debtor holds principal or joint responsibility.
After removing duplicate entries where the same debt could be assigned to both principal and responsible parties at the same time, the total declined to 13.566 billion euros, a 6.9% drop.
Debt distribution shows the majority owed by main debtors, totaling 12.023 billion euros, compared with 861 million euros for those responsible, and 2.328 billion euros for cases involving both categories.
Nearly half of the total debt, 6.230 billion euros or 41%, is tied to bankruptcy cases. Therefore, collection efforts remain limited through the process, with 2.155 main debtors referred for liability amounting to 2.123 billion euros.
87.6 million subscribers are not on the list
As in previous editions, some debtors who meet inclusion criteria withdraw from the list at the last moment. The amount involved totals 87.6 million euros.
Some made deposits in the weeks leading up to the deadline, totaling 41.2 million euros, while others were selected for 46.3 million euros. In such cases, nonappearance on the list is possible only if the debt is fully paid.
Taxpayers selected to be on the list for the end of 2022 have since paid 132.6 million euros, including those who settled debts to remain off the list. In the previous year, 388 million euros were reported as paid during this process.