Switzerland and Luxembourg account for one third of amounts declared by taxpayers in goods and rights overseas

On Wednesday, the Tax Agency published an extensive breakdown of the figures declared by taxpayers under Model 720 on goods and rights located overseas. Of the more than 200 countries and territories on which information declared exists under the model, a breakdown is offered by type of goods and rights for the first year that Model 720 was in force (information relating to 2012, declared in 2013 and in subsequent periods). According to the breakdown by the origin of the assets, out of the total of 90.98 billion euros declared under the first Model 720, one third is concentrated in two countries: Switzerland (more than 19.8 billion euros) and Luxembourg (almost 10 billion euros).

By type of assets and rights, in the case of bank accounts and out of a total in excess of 15 billion euros, more than 10.5 billion correspond to five countries (Switzerland with 4.83 billion; Belgium, with 1.75 billion; the United Kingdom, with 1.68 billion; Germany, with 1.29 billion; and Andorra, with 966 million euros).

In terms of real estate, out of a total declared of more than 9.2 billion euros, assets located in France amount to 1.73 billion, in the United Kingdom to 1.38 billion, in Germany to 727 million and in Portugal to 682 million euros. These four countries account for practically half of the total of this type of asset declared.

The concentration of goods and rights declared is particularly intense in shares and shareholdings in collective investment institutions (mainly in investment funds). Out of a total of 17.2 billion euros declared, Luxembourg (6.29 billion) and Switzerland (5.67 billion) account for almost 70%. The next countries by volume declared are the United States (763 million) and Andorra (758 million euros).

Similarly, out of the total amount declared for securities and rights overseas (47 billion euros), almost one third are concentrated in Switzerland (8.95 billion) and the Netherlands (6.31 billion euros). As regards insurance and temporary and life annuities, taxpayers declared under the first Model 720 a total of 2.48 billion euros, of which 580 million correspond to Luxembourg and 455 million to Andorra.

More than 126.5 billion euros declared on first occasion

Following the returns presented in the first year, taxpayers have updated their list of goods and rights overseas in the following two years, reflecting, on a separate basis, those assets stated as declared for the first time both in returns presented in 2014 and in 2015; those in which circumstances dictate that a new return needs to be made (increase for each group of goods and rights in excess of 20,000 euros) and those which have been extinguished or revoked

As a result of the foregoing, taxpayers have posted as declared for the first time under this model more than 126.5 billion euros (90.98 billion in the first year, 20.79 billion in the second year and 14.77 billion in the third year).

In parallel, taxpayers have declared in the second year of returns goods and rights already declared previously for an amount of more than 70.33 billion euros and revoked or extinguished goods and rights for an amount of 15.94 billion euros. In the third year, assets have been declared that had previously been declared for an amount of 46.07 billion euros, and revoked or extinguished goods and rights for an amount of 12.68 billion euros.

Control of assets overseas

All of this information, for the purposes of present and future verification, continues to fill the database of the Tax Agency, which continues with its analysis of more than 7,000 pre-selected taxpayers for verification by tax inspectors due to not having presented the Model 720 when they were under an obligation to do so, pursuant to the information available to the Tax Agency, or because they made the return incorrectly.

This increase in the control of assets located overseas allows the tax bases to be expanded, given that the presentation of Model 720 leads to the correct taxation of Capital Gains Tax and Personal Income Tax.