Soledad Fernández is getting ready to leave Spain’s Tax Agency as internal tensions mount over shifts in the institution’s leadership and the continuing turmoil surrounding the Zapatero case.
Spain’s Tax Agency is gearing up for a major leadership shift following the close of the income tax campaign, as its director general, Soledad Fernández Doctor, is expected to step down after four years at the helm of the institution responsible for combating tax fraud.
The move also influences other top officials across the agency, as internal strain and differing versions persist regarding the real magnitude of the crisis. The Finance Ministry maintains that Fernández’s exit did not stem from an abrupt resignation but from a replacement request submitted months earlier and delayed until the close of the income tax campaign to prevent disrupting the agency during one of its peak periods.
However, this change comes at a highly delicate moment for the Tax Agency, as the judge overseeing the Plus Ultra case has recently offered the Finance Ministry the opportunity to join the proceedings as a potentially wronged party in relation to €1.3 million worth of jewellery that the National Police recovered from the office of former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. The AEAT’s decision on whether to take part or remain on the sidelines has become one of the central political flashpoints surrounding the matter.
A few days ago, the judge overseeing the Plus Ultra case invited the Finance Ministry to step in as a “potential injured party” regarding the jewellery that the National Police confiscated from Zapatero’s office. This marks a pivotal turn because, under the case’s structure, the Tax Agency must be recognized as an injured party for Zapatero to be prosecuted for a supposed tax violation. The judge noted that the circumstances under review “show financial damage directly tied to state-managed revenue administered by the Tax Agency.”
In addition, on June 30, the People’s Party submitted a broadened version of the work plan for the Senate investigation committee examining how the State Industrial Holding Company, known as SEPI, handled the bailout processes. The party scheduled Fernández to appear on July 13 so she could explain the tax authority’s stance. This would not mark her first time before such a committee; on February 18, 2025, she had already given testimony to the Senate committee looking into the Koldo case.
Opposition parties and various members of the public have linked Fernández’s departure to this matter and to the Senate committee reviewing SEPI’s management, where the outgoing director general had been scheduled to testify on July 13 to explain the tax authorities’ position.
“Zapatero’s jewellery has led the former prime minister and the government into a dead end. With no explanations and no possible justifications, they are trying to buy time to cover everything up, even if that means putting pressure on our institutions. The judge offered the AEAT the chance to appear in this case as a ‘potential injured party’. Since then, one question has been echoing throughout the institution: Will the Finance Ministry take action against Zapatero, yes or no?” the People’s Party said last Tuesday.
Origin: ABC and The Objective.
