Suma raises $7.2 million by strengthening controls against tax evasion

The anti-fraud audit mainly focuses on two taxes: Economic Activities Tax and the rate known as the “1.5% rate”. This second tax is the tax where the most cases of non-compliance are detected. Companies must pay a fee to municipal councils of 1.5% of their turnover for the use or exploitation of land, subsoil or access to municipal public roads. A clear example of this is the cables that companies place underground to carry out their operations.

Settlement

“It was found that there are a large number of companies that pay all or none of the 1.5% rate,” says José Antonio Belso, director of Suma. Another tax that the institution affiliated with the Provincial Council puts under the spotlight is the Construction Tax., Installations and Operations (ICIO). In this case, the inspectors’ task was to verify that the fee paid by companies for building permits fully corresponded to the work performed. All these audit tasks contributed to a 20% increase in collections.

Another achievement that explains Suma’s good work over the last twelve months An agreement was reached with the Municipality of Roquetas de Mar. Through this agreement, the management unit will provide assistance to the Andalusian municipality as of January 1, ensuring cooperation between administrations that will generate extra income and allowing the business model to be exported outside the province. “We are making arrangements with five other municipalities or councils to prevent more cases similar to Roquetas de Mar from occurring,” Belso said. “Some of these projects are currently in an advanced stage of maturity,” he adds.

This new agreement reached with the Andalusian Municipality is the first agreement signed by Suma with these qualifications since 2015. Previously, cooperation agreements were signed with Majadahonda City Council, Gran Canaria Council and Albacete Provincial Council.. All of these agreements have been renewed for the next four years. “We put a cost into our management model, and these governments implement it instead of resorting to private initiative,” says Belso. Another good indicator for the County Council body is that legal services have reduced both cases and adverse decisions by 38%. “This is a result of us making placements better and better. Procedures are applied more carefully and we rarely lose out if a dispute arises. “This is another indicator of good management,” celebrates the director of the provincial institution.

Irregularities

In case of irregularities, just as investigators go after tax evasion, Suma this year also resorted to technology to take aerial photographs with a drone that could reveal possible fraud during the expansion of houses or the construction of swimming pools without the relevant permits. The initiative is part of a broader plan aimed at improving collection processes and services provided to citizens as a whole.

Another of the great innovations that Suma introduced throughout 2023 is Growth in paying taxes through Bizumremained at 38%. The technologies adopted by the Provincial Council, which has entered Metaverse, where it will open its first virtual office that will improve communication with users, are not only drones, artificial intelligence or payment via the Bizum platform.