Spain under siege as international lawyer Robert Amsterdam denounces predatory tax agency and institutional rot

Extra Amsterdam&Partners

Introducing a controversial new book about Hacienda and the finance system, authors warn of a 'dual state' where administrative overreach, auditor bonuses, and AI threaten the future of Spanish democracy

Dilip Kuner

Marbella

The boundaries of democratic governance are rarely shattered overnight; instead, they are quietly eroded from within. This was the sobering thesis presented at a recent gathering in Marbella, where American international human rights lawyer Robert Amsterdam and British public policy expert Christopher Wales introduced their new book Hacienda and the Dual State (Hacienda y el Estado Dual)

Focused explicitly on the contemporary legal and political climate of Spain, the authors spoke at an event in front of lawyers and businessmen and delivered a blistering, emotionally charged critique of what they describe as a profound institutional crisis that extends far beyond the realm of simple tax disputes.

The authors concluded with a stark warning about the integration of advanced, undisclosed AI algorithms into state surveillance and tax enforcement. Without immediate, targeted political reform to eliminate internal auditor bonuses - they are paid according to how much tax they raise giving them an incentive to tax first and ask questions later - and the oppressive "pay-to-play" model where all disputed taxes have to paid first before you can appeal, Amsterdam warned, the remaining bastions of the rule of law in Spain will completely collapse.

"Right now, you are not in a rule of law system," he concluded. "You need to make it your life's work to go to the political party, whichever one you want, and say, 'if you want my vote, get rid of pay-to-play and get rid of the bonuses.'"