It always passes quickly and from one day to the next, like a flower that never summer and a tree that doesn't let you see the forest, but the state Treasury has once again made public this week the official list of major tax defaulters in the Kingdom of Spain. Eleven hundred and eleven individuals and four thousand seven hundred companies have in common that they owe more than 600,000 euros to the public coffers – and no, they are not precarious migrants in search of life, work, and future. They are few who owe a lot, for a total outstanding amount that rises to 15,364,000,000 euros. I haven't heard any statement from Foment del Treball regarding persistent fiscal absenteeism, but I stare magnetically at the figure, almost dazzled, absorbed in the eleven digits. Trying to think how this fortune, euro by euro, would translate into strengthening so many strained public services – schools, hospitals, or support for SMEs. However, it is all a mirage and a simulation. Because another figure, the real one, reminds us that the publication of the list is in vain. The other number leaves me roasted on the way to fried: Treasury inspectors report that, from the fiscal year 2025, only 220 million have been recovered. 1.4% of the total. A fiscal hell – for all of us – that doesn't even cover a drop in the ocean. Saying this this week, when the vast majority have noticed in their current accounts how public taxation went through the cash register – whether to return or to pay – serves to remind us that for a long time, we haven't all truly been with the Treasury. In smaller magnitudes, the nascent Tax Agency of Catalonia has made the same list public these days: 60 debtors with an outstanding amount of 184 million, headed by an unknown who owes 65 million. And one is left pondering the doubt of how on earth a debt of 65 million accumulates without anything happening before.I take for granted that the list's case studies are multiple –many stem from bankruptcies and creditor proceedings–, but beyond the nosiness for names and the haggling over some economies, in the altarpiece there are too many usual suspects, flagship companies of the real estate bubble and a few studio characters. The crucial issue is that non-payment is only one of the faces of a structural tax fraud –elusion, evasion, shell companies, false double residency, bonuses for large companies or investment funds– which amounts to 60,000 million euros annually. Wide-eyed people are turning again, trying to ground the hefty sum in an increasingly unequal and striking social reality. The unshakeable feeling that it's all one after another makes a hole. A black hole through which so many things escape.

The Treasury last year settled a total of 547 million euros from individuals "with large assets", which represents a 4.4% increase compared to the previous year. To these actions through the different territorial delegations of the State Tax Administration Agency (AEAT), with 1,329 inspections – a 5.1% increase compared to 2024 – are added those of the Central Unit for the Coordination of Relevant Assets to detect, for example, false residencies. In fact, last year 68 million euros were settled from 145 taxpayers "artificially located in other countries" who actually reside in Spain and must pay taxes there.

The Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) will focus its efforts this year on digital businesses, rentals, and the activity of... influencers. These are some of the guidelines included in the 2026 tax control plan published by the Official State Gazette (Official State Gazette) of this Thursday. One of the important elements for carrying out these actions is all the new financial information available to the Treasury, such as those related to the use of Bizum or cardsIn addition to the data provided by cross-border payment providers and e-commerce platforms, new financial reporting requirements have been added. This will allow for greater control over e-commerce activities and the concealment of payments and collections through so-called neobanks. (digital banks). Other activities that will warrant greater scrutiny by the Tax Agency include fraud by companies with high turnover and by individuals with "significant" assets. The plan anticipates increased oversight of the various business areas within the real estate sector, "in a context of market recovery after years of slowdown." One of the key aspects will be monitoring "the accurate valuation of properties in transfers, especially when related entities or corporate structures are involved."

The Spanish Tax Agency has dismantled a network of 38 companies that allegedly defrauded the government of more than €300 million in 2024 through value-added tax (VAT) in the hydrocarbon sector. The scheme, dubbed "Pamplinas Stars," is one of the two largest such cases in Spanish history. The investigation involved 160 agency officials, and five people considered responsible for the criminal organization were arrested. One of these individuals, believed to be the ringleader, is already in prison for alleged crimes against the public treasury, organized crime, and money laundering. In a statement released this Friday, a public holiday in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands but a working day in Spain, the Tax Agency explained that the investigation began in 2024 when the agency started analyzing potential fraud by a wholesale operator who began selling large quantities of fuel.

The Treasury had a total of €43.797 billion outstanding in 2024, 4.2% more than the previous year. Although the total figure was €48.78 billion, a 16% increase, the adjustments carried out up to last June to eliminate falsified or incorrectly attributed tax returns reduced the amount to €43.797 billion, according to the Spanish Tax Agency.