Supplementary Bill No. 125/2022, approved by the Senate and sent for analysis in the Sejm in September 2025, proposes the creation of a permanent debtor with severe sanctions in the case of tax-related debts. According to an analysis by Marcio Poletto, a lawyer specializing in tax law, if approved, this novelty would give the executive, rather than a publicly qualified judge, the power to decide on intervention or extrajudicial liquidation.
PLC No. 125/2022 creates the Taxpayer Defense Act and also revolutionizes the persona of bona fide taxpayers (who have the “right” to offer and exchange goods as collateral, in addition to access to simplified tax guidance channels and priority rights in the credit refund process) and persistent debtors. Experts said the second point is concerning.
“The worst thing is the characteristic of these persistent debtors, who are made up of those who due to some misfortune owe more than 15 million reais a year, or more than 30% of the previous year’s income equivalent. These taxpayers will lose their right to tax benefits, including installment payments, will not be able to participate in tenders, will not be able to claim judicial recovery, and will be subject to state intervention and extrajudicial liquidation,” he said.
Tax lawyer Marcio Poletto
“In other words, this bill gives the executive branch more power than judges to decide whether a company can seek judicial recovery. And please understand that this ‘right’ to decide who is subject to extrajudicial intervention or liquidation is the responsibility of the Commonwealth, states, federal districts and local governments. It is therefore clear that no one can argue a tax liability in court unless sufficient security is provided,” the lawyer pointed out.
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The expert said taxpayers “commonly suffer from tax abuses from federal, state, and municipal tax authorities that often prove excessive and, in some cases, ineffective.” “For these unfortunate people, they only have to pay what they don’t have to pay if they don’t want to experience state intervention and possible liquidation,” he stressed.
The expert emphasized that currently there is already a procedural system that can combat tax evasion through measures such as tax enforcement, cancellation of CNPJ, tax prevention measures, listing, seizure and expropriation of assets.
“After all, what else does a state want from a debtor who is not necessarily persistent? Hastening the end of the debtor through revocation and extrajudicial liquidation? This is not the role of the state. On the contrary, in my opinion, the state should support the recovery of economically distressed companies, because they produce goods and provide jobs,” he said.
PLC No. 125/2022, authored by Senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), considers citizens to be debtors who continue to engage in “fiscal behavior characterized by repeated large and unjustified tax arrears.”
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