Treasury sets February 20 as limit for entities to pay first installment of tax | The second vice president, Nadia Calviño, justifies it by increasing benefits
Slightly delayed from the originally planned schedule, the Treasury Department on Friday released the long-awaited ministerial decree governing the payment of the tax to energy companies and banks for their extraordinary profits in 2022.
Both sectors can start paying the first part of the tax from that same Saturday, February 4. And they cannot be postponed beyond the 20th of the same month, as stated in the document. In the specific case of the financial sector, the five largest banks in the country (Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank, Sabadell and Bankinter) estimate a combined cost of approximately EUR 1,120 million for this tax, which taxes interest at 4.8% (margin and net commissions) of the entities.
However, the figure may vary given the continuing doubts about how to calculate the volume to be paid. The ministerial regulation itself stipulates that if the amount of the sum of the interest margin and the income and expenses of provisions is not definitively known within the period of liquidation and payment of the advance, it will be estimated accordingly. according to “a reliable calculation method”.
According to industry estimates, CaixaBank would be the most affected entity, with the payment of around 400 million euros. BBVA and Santander will each have to pay 225 million euros for the pledge, while Sabadell estimates a cost of 170 million euros. Bankinter in turn calculates an impact of 100 million euros.
Economic Vice President Nadia Calviño re-justified the move this Friday in light of a year of sharply rising earnings for the sector. In some cases, such as BBVA and Santander, with profits never seen before. In total, and without taking into account the extraordinary impact of 2021, the major entities achieved a profit of 20,849 million euros with Unicaja, representing an increase in their profit of 27.86% compared to the previous year.
According to Calviño, these figures “confirm the appropriateness of imposing an extraordinary tax on banks”. “The announced benefits make it clear that they have the margin to pay for it without passing it on to their customers. When we see salaries and bonuses, all the more reason,” he insisted.
The banks, like the electricity companies, were very aware of this ministerial order to find out how and when to pay the tax. Especially since many of them consider using it once paid.
Bankinter CEO María Dolores Dancausa was one of the most determined when she announced that they would appeal the lien when it was announced. And the rest of the big entity managers are still exploring whether they can do it. But everything indicates that they will also fight legal battles.
As stated in the document, the administrative burden will also be considerable. To begin with, the entities will have to present models 797 and 798 (795 and 796) to the Treasury in the case of electricity companies in order to make the advance payment of 50% of the tax, which will be deducted from the final benefit that will have to be be paid in September.
Specifically, the final self-assessment from September 1 to 20 – with direct debit from September 1 to 15 – will be presented in electronic format with forms 795 for the temporary lien on energy and 797 for the temporary lien of credit institutions and financial credit institutions.
Please note that the amount of the benefit and its advance are not considered tax-deductible expenses for the purposes of determining the corporate income tax base.
In addition, the amount of the benefit and its advance will have no direct or indirect economic impact. Violation of the obligation referred to in the previous paragraph is regarded as a very serious violation and is punished with a proportional fine of 150% of the amount charged on. This infringement will not have a fiscal character and will be subject to the general sanctions regime.
The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) is responsible for verifying compliance with these obligations and, where applicable, for processing and resolving sanctions procedures for breaches thereof.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
