Efforts by the Generalitat to combat financial fraud yielded an outstanding result last year, with noticeable momentum in Alicante where real estate activity rose. Tax enforcement actions identified by the Valencia Tax Office (ATV), a department of the Ministry of Finance responsible for managing regional taxes, played a key role in these gains.
According to ATV’s balance sheet for 2022, under the leadership of Sonia Díaz, the province saw 17,413 control, verification, and investigation actions. These efforts generated a total of 42,911,682 euros, a 23% rise from the prior year. This increase stands in contrast to a more modest national uptick of around 1% in tax collection to curb evasion across the autonomous community, which added 96.2 million euros, as reported by ATV.
In Alicante, the surge in fraud cases coincided with higher sales activity in housing. The province also saw total revenue climb by more than 30%, particularly from the Real Estate Transfer Tax and the Documented Legal Transactions Tax, which together exceeded 1,138 million euros for the regional administration.
In a public appearance, Sonia Díaz highlighted the dual nature of the drive: both fraudulent and undisclosed transfers are subject to verification, and certain groups, such as young buyers, benefit from discounted tax rates. The administration also notes that some company sales were used to mask real property transactions for tax purposes.
Valencia Tax Office launches a new personalized phone service
Diaz underscored that ATV handles daily data on new deeds signed at notaries and those sent to the land registry. As a result, information from these channels is increasingly difficult to conceal from the administration. The exchange of data continues to strengthen, aided by advances in technology that allow much faster data migrations.
The total amount collected in the province through fraud-fighting actions reached 21.7 million euros, encompassing comprehensive checks of compliance with requirements. An additional 19.3 million euros came from the inspection department, and 672 self-assessments by taxpayers affected by ATV’s actions contributed another 1.8 million euros.
heritage
While the greatest increase in Alicante stemmed from higher real estate activity, the regional victory in fraud reduction was in Inheritance Tax and Donations. Inheritance-related payments contributed 42.3 million euros out of 96 million collected in this category. The Generalitat has been especially vigilant to ensure requirements are met, particularly during transitions of family businesses. For tax benefits tied to ownership changes, heirs must remain involved in the management of the company for a specified period.
On the other hand, control of property transfers added 36.2 million euros at the regional level, with wealth tax violations contributing an additional 16.5 million euros. The Generalitat awaits decisions on 121 cases involving fictitious address changes by taxpayers registered outside the region or abroad to avoid the tax.
In the broader fraud-fighting effort, the environmental tax sector contributed just over one million euros, with a share of 61,102 euros identified as irregularities.
More information available to the taxpayer
Beyond aggressive controls, the Valencian Tax Office aims to improve voluntary compliance and simplify tax obligations. Plans include expanding access to tax information for citizens, mirroring the approach used by the national Tax Agency during income campaigns. Additionally, ATV intends to launch a pre-appointment phone service to assist in managing ceded taxes, modeled after the national “We call you” initiative during income campaigns.