MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Spain opens tax evasion “hunting season” and targets 8 billion Euros

Vice-president Soraya Saenz de Santamaría, ‘this is the beginning’

Spain’s new Conservative Government announced this week a wide ranging plan against fiscal fraud and tax evasion by which it hopes to recoup over 8 billion Euros for treasury coffers in 2012 alone. And it has also announced it will be engaging countries which have ceased to be tax-havens in order to step up the Government’s efforts against tax evasion in Spain.

The ambitious anti-fraud plan will include applying a ceiling on the use of cash payments for certain financial transactions following the model introduced in France and Italy, a voluntary plan for the payment of tax arrears and greater resources for the detection of large scale fraud.

According to Spanish vice-president Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, the new administration will be introducing a raft of measures designed to curb the black economy, money laundering and other illegal financial activities.

 Inspections in economic sectors that are considered suspect will also be intensified, greater self regulation for ‘normal’ taxpayers and a more vigorous exchange of information with territories that have ceased to be considered as tax-havens in order to target tax evasion from Spain.

As another cost cutting measure, the elimination of public sector financial entities, companies and foundations at both a national and regional scale is also envisaged, a move that had been approved by the previous administration but never put into effect.

“The eradication of over 500 such entities had been agreed whether through actual removals or mergers but in actual fact only 13% were closed down. That is not enough and the cuts have to go much deeper,” said Sra Saenz de Santamaria.

Meanwhile the Banco de España has also been instructed to provide information about the remuneration received by executives from banking and other financial institutions in Spain that have been intervened by the authorities. The purpose of this measure is to put a limit on such earnings.
 

 

Vice-president Soraya Saenz de Santamaría, ‘this is the beginning’