In a country where tax evasion drains billions from the public treasury, facilitates the penetration of organized crime into legal activities and harms the functioning of free competition, it is positive that the House of Representatives is about to vote on the Supplementary Bill 125/2022.
With Senate approval, the certification establishes the Taxpayer Defense Act, along with the rights and duties of taxpayers and tax authorities, and brings another fundamental advance: the so-called permanent debtor classification.
This is a taxpayer – individual or legal entity – whose default is significant (tax debts of at least R$15 million and exceeding 100% of known assets), recurring (in at least four consecutive periods or six alternating periods in 12 months) and unjustified.
The project increases penalties in these cases, including ineligibility for registration, objection to participation in bidding, exclusion of benefits, and cancellation of criminal prosecution due to late payment.
The focus is on the systemic bad faith of people and companies that do not pay taxes and hide assets. The goal is not to label the occasional defaulter, but rather a professional tax evader who organizes his business around fraud.
The infiltration of these participants into the legal economic fabric often forms a bridge with organized crime. In the consolidation phase, gangs launder illicit capital through shell companies that evade taxes to compete in formal markets.
This practice distorts market performance. Reputable companies are closing in the face of predatory prices charged by persistent debtors. This phenomenon has already been well identified in the fuel sector, but is penetrating into other activities.
According to estimates, the permanent individuals will be just 1,200 legal entities, which have accumulated debts of more than R$200 billion. The ease with which they change corporate structures in order to leave debt behind and take on tax evasion again with the new CNPJ is the central problem.
Fundação Getulio Vargas expects up to R$30 billion annually in recoverable tax debts, which are also essential resources to boost the budget deficit without increasing taxes.
Finally, the educational aspect of the project stands out: joint debtors with legitimate problems receive an enhancement of their rights – extensive defense, transparency, and compensation for tax errors.
Programs like Confia and Sintonia offer incentives to good payers: reduced fines, extended deadlines, and priority channels. It is right that honest taxpayers in distress have clear legal paths to voluntarily bring themselves back into compliance.
Therefore, agreeing to stricter rules against permanent debtors is fair. It is also a financial weapon against organized crime and its legal repercussions, in order to protect the formal economy.
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