UPDATE: Project details updated during the EPSA 2025-26 edition.
Context
In Alicante there are two million urban units and more than 400 000 rural plots to manage – a provincial habitat of two million inhabitants with the added complexity of covering an extensive urbanised coastline. There is a dynamic real estate market that generates thousands of changes of ownership each year, affecting in many cases a foreign population that is unfamiliar with local laws, regulations and procedures.
In addition, there are different administrations operating in the same territory with objectives that are not always aligned. This means that information is rarely shared, different technological solutions are incompatible, and innovations are scarce, poorly funded and of low impact. As a result, local authorities lose efficiency and opportunities to provide services to citizens, as well as reducing their economic sustainability.
Objectives
The primary goal is to identify and tax properties that are currently evading local taxes, thereby increasing municipal revenue. This involves overcoming obstacles related to information sharing, as often the necessary data already exists but is scattered across different administrative bodies. To address this, several key steps are proposed. First, is to enhance data management efficiency and quality by utilising geographic information systems (GIS: a computer system for capturing, storing, checking and displaying data related to positions on Earth’s surface), machine learning and deep learning technologies. Second, to establish agreements with relevant organisations that commit all parties to a comprehensive data strategy. This includes continuous training in the use of digital technologies. Third, to foster a culture of excellence in local administrations. This involves advancing the geolocation of territorial data, digitising this data and disseminating it on digital platforms for large-scale data management and intelligent operations. Automation is a crucial step in this process, as it can free public employees from tasks that add little value.
Implementation
In the implementation of this project, decisions are made on the basis of data. To this end, the GIS is used to locate untaxed properties in municipalities that lack the necessary information. The development of planning involves coordinating the collection and exchange of information between local, provincial, regional, state and corporate authorities. In addition, two technicians from the Geographic Information Maintenance Unit were assigned to this project.
Developments
In 2023 this story was needed to be told, because it has been a real odyssey: learning and learning, adopting new technologies, and challenging the inertia of ‘always was the case’.
There was resistance and uncertainty to innovate where it was not before; every difficulty was turned into momentum, and every doubt into a brave decision, showing that modernising is not a risk, but an opportunity to lead.
That is why this story deserves to reach Europe: it proves that change is possible even when few bet on it.
Since the initial presentation, significant progress has been achieved in institutionalisation, planning, and resource management, consolidating the project as a strategic tool for local tax management and administrative modernisation.
Within the organisational structures, the project has promoted interdepartmental integration and coordination within Suma Gestión Tributaria. The Land Registry, ICIO (Impuesto sobre Construcciones, Instalaciones y Obras), IAE (Impuesto sobre Actividades Económicas), and Urban Waste teams now operate in a coordinated manner, sharing information systematically and collaborating in the detection of non-tax properties, undeclared changes of use, and omitted constructions. Clear roles are defined for each area: geolocation technicians are responsible for referencing licences on cadastral mapping, while analysis teams check information against cadastral databases and validate incidents detected. Inter-administrative coordination with municipalities and other provincial, regional, and national entities has been formalised, establishing standardised information flows and promoting co-governance.
In terms of resource allocation, a multidisciplinary team with expertise in GIS, data analysis, programming, and tax management is consolidated. Technology infrastructure is optimised by integrating GIS, AI, big data, BI, and external open data. This allows for interoperability and efficiency in managing large volumes of information. The strategy has been designed to maximise the sustainability and replicability of the project, minimising new investments and optimising existing resources.
Planning and formalisation: a systematic procedure for collecting, verifying, and taxing buildings has been institutionalised, establishing a continuous flow of updating and curating data. Protocols are developed to standardise formats and information structures from different administrations, ensuring efficient analysis and long-term project continuity. Technological integration allows for a forward-looking approach to the traditional reactive approach, anticipating irregularities and optimising tax collection.
Important steps have been taken towards institutional replicability and sustainability. Process documentation and staff training ensure knowledge transfer and business continuity. The results and the technological structure developed allow the model to be applied to other municipalities or provinces with minimal adaptations.
The project is transforming local tax management, promoting inter-administrative interoperability, optimising resources, and establishing systematic procedures that strengthen their institutionalisation and sustainability, laying the foundations for their replicability in a European context.
This project has led to the implementation of a genuine data science that has become established in Suma as a pillar of decision-making throughout the project lifecycle, from the conceptualisation of the problem to ethical impact assessment.
Long-term impact
The project has generated a significant and sustainable impact on local tax management, contributing to administrative modernisation, efficient collection, and technological integration of processes. In the long term, it is expected to establish an institutionalised and replicable model that allows local governments to systematically detect and correct tax omissions, reducing revenue losses and optimising the use of public resources. Interoperability between departments and administrations, as well as the integration of sustainable governance indicators, big data, and BI tools, supports the consolidation of a comprehensive data strategy that strengthens governance and urban planning, driving the transition to smart cities.
The results obtained justify the initial objectives of the project. Numerous irregularities have been detected in the taxation of municipal property (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles – IBI), including undeclared demolitions and new works, missing swimming pools, and changes in use without registration, demonstrating the effectiveness of the hybrid approach between sustainable governance indicators and emerging technologies. The system developed has made it possible to transform cadastral information and urban planning permits into tangible financial resources for municipalities, meeting the objective of optimising collection and reducing delays and complaints.
Progress has also been made in institutionalising the project by standardising and curating data, formalising
interdepartmental and inter-administrative information flows, and empowering staff, ensuring sustainability and replicability. The combination of technological efficiency, administrative integration, and a forward-looking approach ensures that the objectives of modernisation, interoperability, and improved management of local resources are achieved in a consistent manner, consolidating an innovative model applicable to other local administrations.
Economic performance: EUR 1 073 737 of taxes was omitted and recovered when the project was presented two years ago; this has now risen to EUR 3 121 548. The EUR 7 million proposed after the end of the project is on track.
Adjustment in the objectives
The project was born with a clear mission: find properties that were not taxed. It was a concrete, almost detective target. But moving forward, the team discovered that the true value was not only to find what was missing, but to better understand the whole territory. Thus, the initial target was adjusted and matured: from a punctual search to comprehensive and anticipatory data management, able to detect changes in use, renovations, and undeclared works.
This shift transformed the way of working. Departments started to speak the same language, sharing information through standardised and replicable flows. The project was no longer an isolated intervention but a structural gear.
Its effects spread rapidly. The methodology strengthened other tax policies, improving inspection and collection, and provided the technological basis for inspection initiatives in other tax and administrative modernisation. The big data and BI experience boosted new local capacities.
New key projects emerged from this learning: the Unified Urban Waste Rate Management Model and the launch of Project DiMo, the heart of Dato Government, which is currently financed with Next Generation (EU) funds.