Spanish Tax Authorities usually contact taxpayers through a letter, in which they communicate that they have started an Inspection, or they appear directly in your offices, warehouse or in your factory, in order to gather more information or documentation. They will inform you regarding what tax are they acting, and on what period, and will provide you with several letters, informing you of their further actions.
Of course, this can be confusing, and sometimes, complex. Not only for expatriates or investors, but also for Spanish entrepreneurs. Such letter can be sometimes too technical, or you know that you have done everything correctly, but do not understand where the problem is.
The kind of reasons why the Spanish Tax Authorities contact you and start an inspection can be multiple, but usually, our clients face the following queries from Spanish Tax Authorities:
- Your company a VAT refund, and Spanish Tax Authorities claim that you did not have the right to obtain it, or they want to check if the expenses related to this VAT are related to your business activity.
- Spanish Tax Authorities consider that you were a Spanish Tax Resident for a period and, as such, you should have paid taxes on your worldwide income.
- You filed in a Corporate Income Tax and you deducted certain expenses; however, Spanish Tax Authorities consider that such expenses were not related to the business activity and, therefore, you should pay taxes on such higher benefits.
- Spanish Tax Authorities consider that you had the obligation of filing in an Informative
Form on Goods and Assets Abroad, and they have issued you a penalty and they understand that those assets are a capital gain you had on your latest Tax Return. - You have a company that rents a property, and Spanish Tax Authorities consider that it
can not benefit from the reduced Corporate Income Tax Rate, and it should be taxed at
a 25%.