(03/01/2020 – ITCMD/Donations and Inheritance from Abroad) The Supreme Federal Court (STF) ruled that states cannot demand ITCMD on donations and inheritances from abroad, given the absence of a Complementary Law. The case in question discussed the constitutionality of São Paulo Law No. 10,705/00, but will certainly have national effectiveness, since the judgment was conducted under the General Repercussion system.
The controversial point in the ruling concerns the modulation of the decision’s effects: the majority of the Court held that the decision will only take effect upon its publication, except for cases with ongoing legal proceedings. This is not the first time the Supreme Federal Court has acted in this way, favoring only those taxpayers who chose to take the dispute to court.
As to the merits of the decision, the Supreme Court was right; however, the modulation of the effects of the decision, in our view, ends up treating taxpayers in equal situations unequally.
