The Treasury already hopes to have results against persistent debtors in the first half of the year

• Performance: A persistent debtor uses illicit practices to gain market share and harm good businesses, Haddad says
• Investigation: The State of SP monitors a list of persistent debtors that includes 24 billion reais and tries to recover the assets

They could be held criminally liable and shut down after a proceeding that would be handled by the Federal Revenue Service and its state equivalents. A member of the Treasury emphasizes that this will be done while respecting the right to adversarial opinions and the defense of companies.

There is still no ready-made list of companies. As O GLOBO discovered, there is the impression within the ministry that there is a series of these oranges in the name of “oranges” which are still “unknown” to the tax authorities.

At the top of the priority list are the fuel and cigarette sectors. In an interview this morning, the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, spoke about the consolidation of sectors currently unbalanced due to the high tax pressure. He said the measure is expected to have an impact on revenue because tax evasion amounts to “tens of billions of reais,” but stressed that it is difficult to calculate short-term tax impacts.

According to the National Forum Against Piracy and Illegality (FNCP), based on Ipso/Ipec research data, persistent debtors in the cigarette sector have accumulated tax debts of 23.2 billion reais. “Even with this accountability and a history of tax violations, they continue to operate freely, causing losses to the country and distorting competition in the market,” says the organization, highlighting the growth of this type of behavior in the southern region of the country.

FNCP President Edson Vismona expressed hope that as soon as the law is sanctioned, national and state tax authorities will be able to regulate the operational process and achieve short-term results.

— It is expected that public authorities will act more quickly and reduce this type of practice more quickly — he stressed, emphasizing that the Forum had been looking for legislation of this nature for a decade.

86 billion reais just in PIS/Cofins

The Legal Fuel Institute (ICL) estimates that the Union would receive 86 billion reais from PIS/Cofins alone on behalf of persistent debtors, an amount equivalent to four times the investment in public security made by the federal government last year.