Spain: The EU Directive on AEOI for Digital Platform Operators is being reviewed by the Government
The Spanish lower house of Parliament, known as the Congreso de los Diputados, accepted for consideration Bill No. 121/000139, which aims to enforce EU Council Directive 2021/514. This directive is designed to regulate the automatic financial information exchange (AEOI) for operators of digital platforms and provide tax authorities with a more comprehensive view of the financial transactions of individuals and businesses across the EU, thereby improving the ability of tax authorities to detect and prevent tax evasion and other tax-related offences. The bill encompasses a range of measures, which include:
- Making it obligatory for digital platforms to exchange necessary information between tax authorities and EU member nations to facilitate tax compliance and accuracy.
- Specifying the information that operators of digital platforms must provide to tax authorities as a requirement.
- Introducing due diligence guidelines and protocols for platform operators to adequately declare information, which involves a requirement to keep records for a period of 10 years.
- Providing a framework for tax authorities to perform joint audits of digital platforms, with the purpose of ensuring accurate and thorough examination of the information provided.
- Requiring financial institutions, intermediaries, and platform operators to notify natural persons, who are subject to personal data protection, about the information exchange.
- Imposing penalties for non-compliance.
This law took effect on January 1st, 2023.
Source: congreso.es
