Two new official requirements scheduled for January 1, 2026, have generated controversy: Verifactu, the Tax Agency's verifiable invoicing protocol that generates QR codes, and the connected V16 beacons that the DGT (Spanish Directorate General of Traffic) wants to impose on drivers. Despite being technically very different, they have in common that they have reignited citizens' suspicions about a supposed desire by governments to monitor the actions and movements of the population.

The technological capacity to control us is growing exponentially. It doesn't matter if we're talking about spying on the mobile phones of pro-independence activists, with or without a court order, or about the shoe ads you get after having a conversation about shoes on your mobile phone. Because that's the other issue: we're giving away our data like water. But let's get to the point.

It was a widespread demand. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the self-employed were calling for it, and it was also one of the points demanded by Junts in the Spanish government. Finally, the Verifactu electronic invoice verification system will have its mandatory implementation delayed by one year, moving to 2027 instead of January 1st for companies and July 1st for the self-employed.

For the past few weeks, concerns have been growing among SMEs and the self-employed regarding a new change in invoicing procedures. Starting next year, invoicing systems must comply with new standards to facilitate tax agency oversight and combat tax fraud. The system has been named Verifactu. Taking advantage of the 30th edition of the tax conference organized by the Professional Association of Tax Technicians of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands (APttCB), held this Thursday and Friday in Castelldefels, a tool for professionals based on artificial intelligence (AI) was presented. This tool helps resolve all questions related to Verifactu, which, in principle, is designed to facilitate the verification of an invoice by the Tax Agency. The AI-based tool, accessible to all professionals from both the APttCB and the Spanish Federation of Professional Associations of Tax Technicians and Tax Advisors (FETTAF), "will resolve any doubts related to Verifactu and will draw on queries and answers regarding the general topic of 'Taxes,'" explains Joan Torres, president of the APttCB and FETTAF. The tool's effectiveness is guaranteed by the fact that it contains the answers provided by the tax administration to all questions raised. Consequently, the advice on this matter will more closely align with the Tax Agency's criteria, he adds. During these two days of discussions, tax advisors debated tax policy and the management models of the Catalan Tax Agency (ATC) and the Balearic Islands Tax Agency (ATIB), among other topics.