Between 2018 and 2022, the universe of so-called “strategic tax debtors” increased from 13,851 to 17,288, up 24%, according to the 2022 report on combating tax and customs fraud and evasion.
Individuals and companies with an overall debt of more than half a million euros in one tax office or an overall debt of more than 250,000 euros in more than one tax office fall into the category of strategic debtors.
Also considered and treated by the Tax and Customs Authority (AT) as strategic debtors are those whose total debts represent 80% of a tax office’s debt portfolio, as well as debtors selected by decision of the director of finance.
On the other hand, since 2018, debtors with a debt of less than 50,000 euros have been automatically excluded from this category.
According to the report, at the end of 2022, “17,288 strategic debtors accounted for around 61% of the total debt portfolio” – which amounted to 24,271 million euros at the end of last year.
These debtors, on the other hand, are responsible for 6% of the 21,165,328 total tax enforcement cases, or 1,345,126 of them.
Regarding the evolution of the number of this category of debtors, the available data indicates that they totaled 13,851 at the end of 2018, rising to 14,766 the following year and 15,287 in 2020.
In 2021, the criteria in force determined that there were 16,201 strategic debtors, a figure that rose to 17,288 last year.
