Overview of Tax Authority Plans for 2024
Hacienda will widen the campaigns for notices under the personal income tax to help correct filing errors before any potential intervention by the Tax Agency. This is part of broader efforts to promote voluntary compliance with tax obligations, as outlined in the supervisory plan published in the State Official Bulletin. In recent income campaigns, letters have been sent to landlords to remind them to report rental income in their tax return. These steps aim to reduce mistakes and encourage timely, accurate reporting across taxpayers in both Canada and the United States who engage with cross-border financial arrangements. (Agencia Tributaria, 2024)
In addition, following the 2023 push to simplify language in documents most commonly used with taxpayers, the Agency will continue that approach with postponement agreements and court orders for payment. The guidelines also begin 2024 with a unified prevention and control model focused on voluntary compliance. This model increases coordination among intensive and extensive control bodies, minimizes indirect burdens on taxpayers, and uses census segmentation to ensure that tax checks target activities with higher risk. (BOE, 2024)
There has also been a new move to tighten oversight of electronic commerce, especially concerning foreign sellers who pretend to be based in Spain, operate on digital platforms, and avoid paying VAT. This is one of the directives of the 2024 supervisory plan released in the State Official Bulletin. These operators are registered here and are liable for VAT on sales to final consumers in Spain, but they are not actually established on Spanish soil. In such cases, the onus falls on the operators themselves, not the platforms, to declare and remit the tax. (BOE, 2024)
Officials note that when foreign traders are not headquartered in Spain, verifying their tax compliance becomes more complex. To address this, along with the new information obligation for digital platforms, the information flow on cross-border payments through payment service providers will prove especially useful, according to the Agency. (Agencia Tributaria, 2024)
Until international information sharing is fully established, Hacienda will implement a plan that includes census reviews of foreign sellers to confirm formal compliance, cross-checks between imported volumes and customs declarations for parcel shipments, international requests, and the selection of operators for inspection. (Agencia Tributaria, 2024)
Neobanks
One priority for the Agency is to strengthen controls related to the digital economy and new business models. The aim is to intensify checks on neobanks and other electronic payment entities that are typically registered in the European Union but may offer digital financial services from Spain without a physical presence. This could create schemes of evasion or fraud by those who use their payment collection services, according to Hacienda. (Agencia Tributaria, 2024)
Alongside the ongoing scrutiny of large fortunes, including potential residency simulations outside Spain or in a different autonomous region, authorities will pursue new information sources that can be extensively analyzed through data exploitation techniques. Global asset analyses will be strengthened to prevent artificial splits of activity and the misuse of legal forms to route personal income. (Agencia Tributaria, 2024)
In the realm of the informal economy and hidden activity, entries in corporate domiciles will continue to require proper administrative or judicial authorization. Focus will be on taxpayers who avoid bank payments, sell directly to final consumers, or display external signs of wealth that do not match declared income. There will also be scrutiny of entities created to issue fake invoices and of hidden assets behind activity conducted by foundations. (Agencia Tributaria, 2024)
Regarding potential links between cryptocurrency use and illicit business or tax fraud, the strategy will maintain information gathering through intermediary investment and payment firms. (Agencia Tributaria, 2024)