As part of the obligations imposed by the legislation governing Foundations, the Board of Trustees of FIC approved the Action Plan for 2023 at the last meeting held in 2022. We consider it of interest to share certain aspects of this Plan with our contacts.
Worthy of mention with respect to this plan is the inclusion of two projects already at an advanced stage of development; namely the project relating to “Extraordinary mechanisms for the resolution of disputes”, coordinated by Uría Menéndez, and a second project on “EU Law and the Spanish Tax System”, coordinated by PwC. Both projects have developed very positively during 2022 and both are expected to be completed during the current year.
The same continuity should be noted for the project relating to “Tax Reform”, which thus stated reflects the constant monitoring of legislative changes in the Spanish tax system assumed by the Foundation However, as a specific action within this general framework it should be pointed out that during 2023, FIC in response to the invitation received from the Secretary of State for Finance (A.E.A.T.) will issue a new analysis and evaluation report on the measures adopted in accordance with the commitments undertaken by Spain in Component 27 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, specifically, the measures adopted by Law 11/2021, on “measures to prevent and combat tax fraud”, to collaborate with the Spanish tax administration in the preparation of the definitive evaluation report in this respect, to be presented to the EU in the fourth quarter of 2023.
As novelties in the Plan for 2023, by contrast, the proposal for two new projects should be noted.
The project relating to “Municipal Taxation” is the first project undertaken by FIC whose main aim is to analyse this matter. It does not seek to consider all the issues relating thereto, but to analyse in detail those issues which are deemed to be most relevant. Without prejudging the content of the program to be developed, it is clear that the intention is to analyse in detail the taxes which are of greater significance to the business activity, which has witnessed an increase in municipal taxes in recent years, regardful of novelties in the business activity which constitute an important source for the increase in municipal revenue collection.
The second novelty is the inclusion of the project on “The recent crisis, the tax measures to deal with said crisis. Extraordinary solutions of new taxation”.
The extent and depth of the crisis experienced in recent years has triggered a specific review of Public Finances, with an impact on both public expenditure and tax collection. We consider it of great interest to analyse, in this work being proposed, the different solutions adopted at State and supra-State level (for example within the framework of the EU), carrying out a detailed reflection and comparative evaluation, among the different agents involved in decision-making and paying special attention to extraordinary solutions which with the justification of the exceptional situation that exists entail the introduction of new taxes whose nature and impact on the tax system as a whole should be investigated.
International comparison in this area has a huge impact on the competitiveness of our system, connecting with a substantial line of investigation in the work of Fundación Impuestos y Competitividad, which makes this project unavoidable in line with the foundational objectives of the entity.