Commentary on the Calculation of the Statute of Limitations Period for Tax Obligations in Matters of Inheritance and Gift Tax

Abstract

The statute of limitations for tax obligations, in perspective with its civil treatment as a means of extinguishing obligations in general, remains the focus of many doctrinal discussions about whether it is truly an institution for extinguishing obligations (extinctive or liberative prescription) or simply rights and actions held by holders, that is, by subjects who are not only passive but also active. It is precisely the tax treatment that has marked this, encompassing subjective issues such as its substantive nature, its difference from the term, its non-retroactivity, intertemporality, ex officio character, and, above all, the method of calculation, taking into account the legislative changes indicated in the Organic Tax Codes of 2001, 2014, and 2020, and especially the inaccuracies that have arisen regarding the method of calculating this period of time in matters of inheritance and gift taxes. These brief comments aim to highlight not only the lack of objectivity in the current norms governing tax statute of limitations but also the silence that the various versions of the aforementioned codes, as well as the earlier codes of 1983, 1992, and 1994, have maintained, whether through action or omission, regarding the definition of instantaneous taxes versus periodic taxes.