Tax and Antitrust Law Tax evasion as an antitrust violation

Main Article Content

Vinicius Marques de Carvalho
Marcela Mattiuzzo

Abstract

Negative competition effects as a consequence of tax matters are widely known and discussed. Nevertheless, sometimes it is presumed that these distortions do not configure antitrust violations and should not be subjected to the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defense’s (CADE) enforcement. This article analyzes CADE’s and the Judiciary’s case law, as well as legislative efforts to determine the concept of the “recurrent debtor” or to regulate article 146-A of the Brazilian Federal Constitution. It concludes that certain illicit tax practices may also be characterized as antitrust violations punishable by CADE. A filter is then presented for this analysis, based on the assessment of (i) the reiteration of the evasive tax practices; (ii) the high taxation and low profit margin in the affected market; (iii) significant increase of the investigated company’s market share; (iv) correlation between growth in market share and the evasive practice; (v) the verification of effective damages to competition.

Article Details

Section
Revista de Defesa da Concorrência
Author Biographies

Vinicius Marques de Carvalho, Universidade de São Paulo (USP); VMCA Advogados

Professor de Direito Comercial na Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Sócio de VMCA Advogados. Foi Presidente do Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (Cade), Secretário de Direito Econômico e Conselheiro do Cade, além de Yale Greenberg World Fellow. Doutor em Direito Comercial pela USP e em Direito Comparado pela Universidade Paris 1 – Pantheón-Sorbonne. 

Marcela Mattiuzzo, Universidade de São Paulo (USP); VMCA Advogados

Doutoranda em direito comercial na Universidade de São Paulo (USP), mestra em Direito do Estado e Bacharela pela mesma instituição, além de Sócia de VMCA Advogados. Foi visiting researcher na Yale Law School, assessora e chefe de gabinete no gabinete da Presidência do Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica. Coordenadora do Núcleo de Direito Concorrencial e Economia Digital na USP.