The Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia has upheld the tax settlement against an investor who declared 372,256 euros for shares in Mogán Resort, when their real value was 671,633 euros. The ruling also reveals a simulation of residency in Madrid to evade taxes.
The Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) has given a boost to the Tax Agency in its fight against tax engineering in the hotel sector. The Administrative Litigation Chamber based in Barcelona has confirmed the settlement and the sanctioning file against a major taxpayer who sold his shares in Mogán Resort, a company linked to Princess Hotels, for a price much lower than the real value.
The ruling, which this media outlet has accessed, raises the taxable base of the transfer from the declared 372,256.80 euros to 671,633.45 euros. The Tax Inspection applied the minimum legal amount set by the Personal Income Tax Law for unlisted companies, considering that the seller did not provide independent valuation reports justifying the reduction.
The ruling, authored by Jorge Rafael Muñoz Cortés, dismisses ordinary appeal 716/2024 and establishes that the simple public deed of sale and the means of payment are not sufficient to prove a price lower than the accounting value. The court thus applies the criterion that, in the absence of justification, the transmission value is the audited net assets of the company.
A fictitious residence in Madrid to evade taxes
The case goes beyond a mere valuation discrepancy. The Tax Agency discovered that the investor simulated his tax residence in Madrid since 2013 to benefit from the Community of Madrid's exemptions on the Wealth Tax and reduce his burden in the Personal Income Tax from 2015 to 2018.
Tax agents visited the declared apartments in Madrid and found them uninhabited: there was no hot water consumption, and the neighbours had never seen the owner. A Mercedes vehicle remained parked and covered in dust in the garage.
The reality was very different. The taxpayer effectively resided on a nine-hectare estate in Cambrils, Tarragona, where he had several domestic employees registered. Utility consumption, daily payments with cards at Catalan tolls, and a history of 96 medical visits and hospital admissions in Barcelona and Reus dismantled the alibi of moving to Madrid at the age of 80.
The Regional Economic-Administrative Tribunal of Catalonia (TEARC) had already confirmed that the centre of economic interests of the taxpayer remained in Catalonia, declaring the documents for changing residence null and void.
Alarm in the hotel sector of Gran Canaria
The judicial ratification of the balance of Mogán Resort SL as a reference for valuing the transfers of hotel shares has raised alarms in the consulting offices and investment funds operating in Mogán and Maspalomas. The use of audited net assets as a minimum threshold limits the margin for aggressive tax optimisation operations between related parties.
The tax authority thus consolidates a rigorous auditing tool over the tourism sector in southern Gran Canaria. The ruling warns that notarial deeds are no longer a shield against valuation methods based on circumstantial evidence.
For the individual investor or entrepreneur selling shares in unlisted companies, the lesson is clear: if a price lower than the accounting value is declared, independent valuation reports and market justifications must be provided. Otherwise, the tax authority will apply the legal minimum and, as in this case, the court will confirm it.
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