HACIENDA VS. THE PEOPLE: AN INITIAL REPORT ON SPAIN AND THE BECKHAM LAW
A white paper by Robert Amsterdam and Christopher Wales
Have you been subjected to unfair tax claims, audits, or seizures by Hacienda?
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NEWS
HECHOS PROBADOS: A documentary film by Alejo Moreno
Hechos Probados (“Proven Facts”) is an acclaimed documentary film produced by the Spanish filmmaker Alejo Moreno which tells the stunning tale of one of the worst abuses of a government tax collection agency against an individual in Spain’s history. This is the story of Agapito García Sánchez, a successful Spanish businessman who was driven to financial ruin, psychiatric hospitalizaiton, and near death, as the Spanish Tax Authority (AEAT) sought to penalize him for more than 53 million euros – more than double what he sold his company for 25 years ago. Hechos Probados first premeired at the Seminci International Film Festival, one of Spain’s most prestigious film events. More information about Alejo Moreno’s work is available here.
How Spanish TaX AUTHORITIES DISCRIMINATE AGAINST FOREIGN RESIDENTS
Profit-Motivated Investigations:
Tax investigators in Spain receive a cut of the sums recovered, even in settlements. This incentivizes them to aggressively pursue cases and pressure victims into disproportionate settlements, regardless of fairness or legality. There is no disincentive for failed investigations. Tellingly, the administration will not reveal the formula, which is a high-guarded State Secret.
Pay-to-Appeal System:
Victims’ rights to appeal are impaired unless they first pay the full disputed amount, or suffer aggressive enforcement actions against their world-wide assets.
Overreaching Taxation Aimed at Foreign Earners:
The present language of the Beckham Law is dangerously broad and arbitrary, which can enable discrimination. This moving of the goalposts, especially after a family has settled in Spain, damages confidence in the stability and trust of the host country.