The Spanish Tax Authority highlights the importance of tax advisors in the functioning of the tax system for providing fiscal advice and other collaboration in the application of taxes. Therefore, in 2011 the Spanish Tax Agency created a cooperative body with the Tax Professional Associations in order to enhance relationships to facilitate voluntary compliance and improve tax certainty and transparency. Moreover, this Forum allows the dissemination of the Tax Administration´s criteria in the application of taxes and the analysis of regulatory modifications prior to their entry into force.
The Forum is chaired by the Director General of the Spanish Tax Agency with the participation of other members of the Administration's Board of Directors and one or two representatives of each association (10 associations in 2020).
The Forum can deal with tax issues of common interest or refer to the relationship between Tax Administration and tax professionals, enhancing trust by achieving these objectives:
• Knowledge and sharing of problems that may arise in the application of the tax system
• Increase the legal certainty
• Reduce compliance costs
• Promote the use of electronic administration
• Collaborate in the detection and solution of fraudulent tax practices
The agreements reached in the Plenary meetings take the form of reports of recommendations. No specific or individual cases or files can be discussed.
Following the success of the pre-established Large Taxpayers Forum, this new Forum has represented an important advance to transform the traditional position of confrontation between the taxpayer and the Tax Administration into a cooperative relationship capable of adopting joint solutions in defence of a higher goal such as the common interest. With this objective, the Spanish Tax Agency decided to create a new instrument to manifest their goodwill in improving the communication process between the Associations and the Administration, so the Code of Good Tax Practices for Associations and Colleges of Tax Professionals was launched in 2019. This Code establishes a set of principles and commitments to improve the communication and proposes lines of action to develop the cooperative relationship model between the Spanish Tax Agency and the Associations of Tax Professionals. In this sense, good tax practices are the set of principles, values, norms and guidelines that define good behaviour of the tax intermediaries with respect to the tax obligations of the taxpayers.
So far, 20 associations have signed this Code of Good Practices but the procedure to adhere has just started.
The assessment of the participants has been very positive, and they have stated that this represents a qualitative change in the relationship model between the Tax Administration and the Intermediaries, in order to establish a transparent and trusting relationship aimed at developing voluntary compliance.
Trust & Compliance
