Tax evasion and fraud equivalent to €2,000 a year for every taxpayer in Spain

MONEY lost to tax evasion and fraud in Spain is equivalent to €2,000 a year for every tax payer, or €300 billion in total according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) data.

Carlos Cruzado, president of the Technicians of the Ministry of Finance (GESTHA) trade union, said the Spanish ‘shadow economy’ was equal to 22.1 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

More than 70 per cent of money fraudulently kept from the treasury was connected with large companies and some of the wealthiest people in the country.

“Big corporations try to look for gaps or holes in laws to try and avoid paying what they ought to. We see this also with football stars who have frameworks of tax havens to avoid paying,” Cruzado.

Fraud also came from smaller businesses and individuals who did not pay taxes including VAT (IVA).

The figures come as footballer Christiano Ronaldo was recently fined €18.8 million for tax avoidance.