The Supreme Court confirms that the writer Lucía Etxebarria will have to pay the Treasury almost 270,000 euros

2023-10-16 19:27:12

The Supreme Court has ruled that the writer Lucía Etxebarria will have to pay the Treasury almost 270,000 euros for the settlement and sanction agreements imposed on her by the Regional Economic Administrative Court (TEAR) of Madrid in 2019 for the years 2010 and 2011 in the personal income tax return.

In a ruling, to which Europa Press has had access, the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the TS rejects the appeal presented by the writer, thus confirming the ruling of the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) of October 6, 2021 , which agreed with TEAR against Etxebarria’s claims.

According to the ruling of the TSJM, which Europa Press has also been able to consult, the tax inspection carried out a settlement of 201,200.95 euros (166,524.63 in fees and 34,676.32 in late payment interest) for the years 2010 and 2011, over which added a penalty of 66,825.91, a total of 268,026.86 euros, which is what he will now have to pay.

The Supreme Court justices explain in their resolution, presented by Dimitry Berberoff, that “the debate that has arisen revolves around the temporal perspective of the regularization of persons or entities linked to a taxpayer.”

“More specifically, it is about determining whether the settlement carried out on the latter must be final to continue tax actions against the related parties or, on the contrary, if such actions can be followed simultaneously,” they note.

In this case, the Third Chamber points out that Etxebarria was a partner and sole administrator of Perravida, a company that in 2010 and 2011 obtained income from the provision of services whose essential content was the publication of articles in the author’s press, the collection of copyright for his literary works, interventions in television programs and in “other types of events or activities.”

The operating income invoiced and declared by Perravida was 342,034.20 euros in 2010 and 236,605.67 euros in 2011 and in those same years it paid Etxebarria 50,000 and 80,000 euros, respectively. However, “the appellant declared in personal income tax remuneration noticeably lower than the income obtained by the entity, for said provision of services.”

This led to the regularization of her tax situation “as the Inspection considered that these were services, in any case, those provided by the company, which required the physical presence and personal qualities” of the writer.

Four days apart

The Supreme Court details that the inspection actions began with respect to the appellant on November 20, 2014, with the personal income tax settlement being carried out on February 25, 2016; while against Perravida they began four days later – on November 24, 2014 -, concluding with a liquidation also on February 25, 2016.”

The magistrates conclude that these were, therefore, “two simultaneous assessments – in fact, issued on the same date and, evidently, through regularization actions carried out in relation to each of the taxpayers–, Therefore, the homogeneity of the adjustment, as well as the legitimate interests of the related parties, were preserved.”

The high court rules out any defenselessness because “the related taxpayers have had the opportunity to intervene and defend their position, each of them in their respective procedure.”

In this sense, he endorses the arguments of the State Attorney’s Office, which ruled out that Etxebarria’s “capacity for reaction or defense” had been compromised by not following the regulation on linked operations that the writer alleged.

For Etxebarria, these rules were violated because the Treasury “proceeded to regularize the personal income tax without waiting for the settlement issued to the company to become final.”