2.5. Taxpayers’ opinion of the Tax Agency

Opinion surveys

In 2018, the Institute for Fiscal Studies of the Ministry of Finance carried out the demographic study “Fiscal opinions and attitudes of Spaniards in 2017”. This report is carried out annually and is also known as the “Tax Barometer.”

The survey is carried out on a sample of three thousand citizens, spread over five segments (business owners, farmers, professionals, salaried workers and the unemployed), selected by quotas of residence, gender and age, and using personal interview techniques, applying a structured questionnaire.

According to the latest published data (for 2017 and earlier), the assessment that Spaniards make of the services provided by the Tax Agency shows a positive image of their quality, reaching a rating, as in previous years, of 2.9 (out of 4).

This study also analyses the citizens' opinion with respect to the Tax Agency's staff, who are rated as being good technicians who are impartial and respectful in the performance of their duties.

Taxpayers' evaluation of the services in the Tax Return Campaign

The Tax Agency, through the “Personal Income Tax Survey 2017” conducted during 2018, surveys the opinion of users on the services offered.

The four services that users consider most useful are: the declaration processing service (Renta WEB); the RENØ service to obtain the reference number; the Tax Agency APP service to access tax data and/or file the declaration; the Cl@ve PIN service; and finally, the APPOINTMENT service.

This survey also examines the level of user satisfaction with the electronic filing of the 2017 income tax return, with 62.82 percent of taxpayers who have used this service stating that they are satisfied or very satisfied.

Suggestions and complaints. Taxpayer's Ombudsman

The Council for the Defence of the Taxpayer, the ombudsman attached to the Secretary of State for Tax, monitors the effectiveness of tax rights and obligations, deals with complaints received about the application of the tax system by the State bodies, and provides relevant suggestion and proposals in the regulatory manner determined. Its scope of power, composition and operation are established by specific regulations.

It appears as a guarantor of the rights of citizens in their tax relations, giving space to all social sectors related to the tax field, in order to guarantee a closer relationship between the Administration and citizens.

The Tax Agency provides technical support and administrative assistance to the Council, as well as training and analysis of information derived from complaints through the Council's Operational Unit for the Defense of the Taxpayer, integrated into the Internal Audit Service and coordinated by its Director.

In 2018, a total of 7,700 complaints and suggestions (7,422 complaints and 278 suggestions) were submitted to the Taxpayer Protection Council in relation to actions by the Tax Agency, 5.77 percent more than in the previous year.

In Table No. 11 . Suggestions and complaints. Main headings 2018 New window of the Annex, the main headings in which the reasons for the complaints and suggestions for 2018 are grouped are collected. In addition, the detailed information can be consulted in the Annual Report of the Taxpayers' Defence Council, which includes the final figures approved at the Council's Plenary Session.