President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sanctioned, with vetoes, the law establishing the Taxpayer Defense Codebenefits good payers and tightens the rules against persistent debtors. The sanction was published in Official Gazette of the Union (DOU) this Friday (9). 
“One of the main objectives of the law is to prevent companies from using legal loopholes to, over the course of years, remain without paying taxes, unfairly harming serious institutions that compete with them and every citizen who fulfills their obligations on time”, says a statement from the federal government.
The new legislation creates the figure of the “contumacious debtor”, a person who repeatedly defaults, using the practice as a business strategy.
“Anyone who is proven to be a persistent debtor is prevented from receiving tax benefits, contracting with the Public Authorities and is not benefited from the extinction of punishment for tax crimes if they pay the tax”, adds the note.
At the same time as it curbs the actions of tax evaders, the law brings benefits to companies that have a good payment history, with the establishment of the Tax Compliance Incentive Program (Sintonia). The law also creates the Fiscal Cooperative Compliance Program (Confia) and the Brazilian Authorized Economic Operator Program (OEA Program), within the customs scope.
