Senator Ronaldo Caiado (DEM-GO) presented, at the end of 2015, a proposal to amend the Constitution (PEC 137 / 2015) that prohibits the Executive from editing a provisional measure on tax issues. Caiado presented the PEC following the suggestion of the Federation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism (Fecomércio), the Commercial Association of São Paulo and the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (ETCO).

Currently, the Constitution already prohibits MPs that raise or create taxes, but the ban does not apply to taxes on Import (II), on Export (IE), on Industrialized Products (IPI) and on Financial Operations (IOF).

PEC 137/2015 ends these four exceptions. According to Caiado, the rule in force today "does not seem to be enough to prevent excesses, which has created enormous legal uncertainty for the Brazilian taxpayer".

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The proposal also determines the minimum period of six months after the creation of the tax for the Union, states and municipalities to charge the taxpayer. Currently, only 90 days must be observed, a rule that is technically called the Priority Tax Principle.

The senator starts from the premise that taxpayers, especially legal entities, "need more time to conceive and execute their business strategies".

The six-month period, however, is not valid for compulsory loans, II, IE, IOF. For these, the 90-day period remains valid.

PEC 137/2015 is in the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ), where it awaits the appointment of rapporteur.

Source: Agência Senado (20/01)