The defence of former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has requested that the Tax Agency suspend the tax inspection opened following his indictment, deeming it unilateral and capricious, and warns of a risk of contradiction with the criminal case.
Zapatero's defence has asked both the judge and the Tax Agency (AEAT) to suspend the tax inspection that the Treasury has opened against him after being indicted in the National Court. In a letter sent to the agency, the former PSOE leader describes the action as "unilateral" and initiated "capriciously," in parallel to the criminal case investigating alleged crimes of influence peddling and embezzlement in the Plus Ultra case.
Inspections open since June into Zapatero and his circle
The Treasury has had tax inspections open since last June affecting the former president, his wife María Sonsoles Espinosa, their daughters Alba and Laura, businessman Julio Martínez Martínez, and several companies. The reviewed concepts include income tax, VAT, and wealth tax, among others. This was communicated by the AEAT to National Court judge José Luis Calama, who is overseeing the case.
According to Zapatero's defence, the Tax Agency's decision to initiate this inspection procedure with the same scope as the criminal investigation constitutes a constitutional violation. "Despite there being an ongoing criminal procedure, the AEAT decides unilaterally and capriciously to initiate an inspection procedure with the same scope, something constitutionally prohibited," argues the letter.
The defence maintains that the inspection places the former president in a "constitutionally diabolical alternative": actively collaborating with the Treasury and having that information potentially used against him in the criminal process, or refusing and exposing himself to administrative reproaches for resistance or obstruction.
Risk of contradiction between criminal and tax matters
Zapatero's lawyers emphasise that the ongoing criminal investigation concerns facts that coincide with those underpinning the inspection actions. Therefore, they believe that the ruling in the criminal jurisdiction will be "necessarily conditioning" for the correct resolution of the tax procedure. Continuing with the administrative process before there is a judicial resolution, they warn, "would entail an evident risk of contradiction in the establishment of the facts" and would violate the established doctrine of the Supreme Court.
The letter reminds that it is up to the AEAT to suspend the inspection and adds that failing to do so "is simply an act not only of irresponsibility but a manifest, blatant, and obvious arbitrariness." The defence primarily requests the annulment of the tax inspections and, subsidiarily, that the Treasury suspend its actions ex officio due to the criminal prejudicial.
For the average citizen, this case illustrates how the coexistence of a criminal procedure and a tax one regarding the same facts can create complex situations for the investigated party. The resolution of this conflict will set a precedent regarding the limits of inspection actions when a criminal case is open.
The National Court is investigating Zapatero for his alleged involvement in granting a multimillion-euro bailout to the airline Plus Ultra in 2021. The former president has always denied any wrongdoing. Now, Judge Calama must rule on the request to suspend the inspections, while the Treasury continues its inspection work pending a judicial decision.
Zapatero's defence is hopeful that the court will heed their arguments and suspend actions that they believe violate fundamental rights. Meanwhile, the former president and his circle remain under the scrutiny of the Tax Agency in a case that intertwines criminal and tax spheres.
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