Hacienda sleeps with the powerful and not with the citizens

The case of a former president's million-dollar jewels has brought an uncomfortable reality to light: the Tax Agency acts slowly when it comes to large fortunes and only reacts when a judge or a media outlet uncovers the scandal. Meanwhile, the average citizen endures automatic withholdings and express penalties for minor errors. Fiscal hypocrisy is a fact.

image of fiscal contrast, large mansion with pool and luxury cars in the background, close-up of an open laptop showing a tax return with minimal errors highlighted in red, an hourglass on the keyboard with sand falling slowly, next to a sealed and dusty file of million-dollar jewels, hands of a citizen holding a penalty receipt, cold office light vs warm mansion light, photorealistic cinematic style, high definition, detailed textures of paper and metal

Scheduled audits: the algorithm the Tax Agency needs ⚖️

The technical solution exists: implement a system of mandatory and periodic audits for all public officials and large estates. This involves cross-referencing Tax Agency databases with luxury goods registries, such as jewels or real estate, using machine learning algorithms. These models would detect inconsistencies between declared income and actual expenses, without waiting for a judicial complaint. Automating these processes would eliminate the current discretion.

The mirage of fiscal equality 🕵️

It's curious: if a citizen forgets to declare an income of 100 euros, the Tax Agency comes down on them within weeks with surcharges. But if a former president has an unaccounted-for 60,000 euro necklace, the system waits for a newspaper to publish it. It seems fiscal control has two speeds: lightning speed for ordinary mortals and a hungover snail's pace for the powerful. Something doesn't add up.