The Taxpayer Defense Council explains that it “doesn’t seem reasonable” that rising prices should lead to an increase in taxpayers’ tax bills. The Council is denouncing what many experts have already pointed out: that not deflating the tax brackets when there have been years with inflation above 8% (8.4% in 2022, 3.5% in 2023, and 3.2% in 2024) constitutes a significant, hidden increase in the tax burden. This is because people whose real income has barely changed now bear a higher tax rate simply because the nominal value of their income has grown with inflation.
In its annual report, cited by the newspaper El País, the council notes that “it is mathematically undeniable that not deflating these amounts leads to an effective increase in the tax burden, which also affects less affluent individuals more incisively.”
The most striking case mentioned in the report is the personal and family minimum, the part of income that is tax-free because it is considered essential for subsistence. It is currently set at €5,550. According to the council’s own calculations, if it had been updated in line with accumulated CPI since 2006, it should be at €7,681, a 30% increase. A similar situation occurs with the reduction for caring for ascendants, which remains at €8,000 despite the fact that, applying the same logic, it should reach €11,072. The council notes that “there are more blatant cases,” such as the inheritance and gift tax, where the rates and tables for pre-existing assets “have not been adjusted for inflation since their approval, more than 35 years ago.”
The body, responsible for handling taxpayer complaints and making relevant suggestions and proposals, emphasizes that this situation generates a growing perception of unfairness and has led to numerous citizen complaints over the past year.
