Brazil’s Chamber Passes Law to Crack Down on Repeat Tax Defaulters

Overview

• Deputies approved the bill by 436–2, keeping the Senate’s text so it moves directly to presidential review.
• To be classified, a federal tax debt must be at least R$ 15 million and exceed 100% of known assets, with repeated and unjustified nonpayment required.
• The process mandates prior notice and a 30‑day window to pay or present a defense with suspensive effect, with exceptions in cases indicating structured fraud; states have one year to set local thresholds.
• Sanctions include bans on public tenders and tax benefits and limits on judicial reorganization in fraud cases, with potential company closure and criminal accountability after due process.
• Finance officials plan to map targets and expect results by mid‑next year, citing roughly 1,200 CNPJs with about R$ 200 billion in debts and pointing to the Carbono Oculto probe as a catalyst.