Consequences and how to report a tax fraud to the tax authorities
You may have heard of cases of former employees or people threatening a company with report tax fraud anonymously to the tax authorities in Spain.
It is true that lately there has been an increase in complaints to the tax office; not only from dismissed workers, but also from companies that report to the tax office a competitor that is unfairly competing with them (by not paying taxes).
Well, see what this possibility consists of and some important issues to bear in mind.
Why report tax evaders to the tax authorities?
The Spanish tax agency already has its mechanisms in place to prevent tax fraud, and they are very, very effective. We have recently heard that the tax office is investigating tax fraud on fuel sales in Spain.
Now, the tax office never says no to a little help.
In fact, in northern European countries, tax reporting is very well established among the population to avoid fraud and unfair competition.
It is clear that tax fraud breaks the rules of the game and cheats benefit a lot from not paying taxes and this means unfair competition to other companies.
This situation occurs, for example, when a company has problems with a supplier over the payment of an invoice, or when a competitor sees signs of fraud because a company sells too cheaply or has problems with a worker who is dismissed for disciplinary reasons.
In such cases, it may happen that the supplier or the former employee threatens to report the company to the tax authorities, citing alleged tax irregularities that have come to their attention…
How to report tax fraud to the tax authorities?
Is it really that easy to report tax evaders to the spanish tax authorities?
Well, it is true that anyone can report tax evaders to the tax office and, in fact, it is simple to do so:
How to report tax fraud Online
The anonymous tax report can be processed from the Tax Office website ( https://www.agenciatributaria.es , section “Denuncia tributaria”) without the need to travel and without having to ratify the facts reported before the Inspectorate.
The Tax Agency website allows you to report tax fraud anonymously for any of the following reasons:
- Complaint of cash payments
- Undeclared invoices or receipts,
- Computer programmes for the concealment of sales or income,
- Fraud related to e-commerce,
- Undeclared property rentals,
- Even a generic complaint for facts other than the above.
The report tax fraud can be submitted anonymously (without indicating the details of the person or company making the complaint).
As it is an anonymous report tax fraud , it is not necessary to have an electronic certificate or Cl@ve Pin.
Consequences of report tax evaders
Tax check
However, having lodged a report tax fraud, does not automatically mean that the company will be visited by the tax man.
The tax report is passed on to the tax inspectorate for analysis. From there:
how to report tax fraud anonymously
If the online tax report is considered unfounded, it is filed.
This would be the case, for example, if a public tax report simply states that a company does not declare all its sales to the tax authorities, without providing any additional information or documentation.
Attention, if there will be an inspection
On the other hand, if the report tax fraud contains facts that may be true and, above all, if the complainant provides evidence of such veracity, it is possible that the tax authorities will initiate an inspection.
However, as the complainant is not an interested party, he/she is not informed of the outcome of the inspection and cannot appeal against the actions taken by the tax authorities.
Example of a tax report
The former director of a company lodged a complaint with the tax authorities stating that the company had received payments for the sale of real estate and had not accounted for them or declared them for tax purposes.
In support of these accusations, he provided various documents relating to these sales. Attention!
The tax authorities considered the report to be well-founded and initiated an inspection, in which they requested the company’s accounts and questioned the buyers of the properties (some of whom acknowledged the payments).
On this basis, the tax authorities issued a tax assessment to the inspected company.
Report tax evaders to the spanish tax office can be submitted electronically and anonymously via the tax office’s website. However, they do not necessarily lead to the initiation of an inspection, unless they are accompanied by credible evidence.
How to prevent report tax fraud to the tax authorities
Avoiding a report tax evaders
Of course, if you comply with your tax obligations, your company has nothing to fear, because even if a complaint is filed by a former employee or a “disgruntled” supplier, it will be dropped.
In any case, it is always advisable to prevent such situations; for example, you can:
- Implement measures that limit access to your company’s documents and information to strictly necessary personnel or even allow you to control such access through the use of secure passwords.
- Sign confidentiality agreements.
