Ex officio preventive imprisonment, collection power

The Court ruled in favor of Constitutionality and human rights.

The tax authority, although it respects the resolution of the highest court of justice of the Nation, warns that it will affect the collection capacity of the government. Both positions have powerful arguments.

From the inspection and collection apparatus, the figures are eloquent.

With the ex officio preventive detention, declared unconstitutional in recent days by the Court, the Tax Administration Service (SAT) and the Federal Tax Prosecutor’s Office (PFF) managed to raise the collection in a proportion of 2 points of the Gross Domestic Product.

The amount collected in 2020, by virtue of the changes to the laws that allowed the application of the Occupational Preventive Prison, was higher than what fiscal reforms achieved in previous governments.

Without increasing or creating new taxes, the López Obrador government hung a valuable medal with the extraordinary increase in the collection of taxes. And above all, to put order and stop powerful white-collar criminals.

Of that size is the preventive and inhibitory nature of the consideration in the laws of the crimes of tax fraud, smuggling and false invoicing, as cases of national security.

But the Court analyzed, evaluated and ruled that the Official Preventive Prison and the consideration of tax crimes as matters of national security, are contrary to the Constitution.

The current Fiscal Attorney of the Federation, Carlos Romero assures that the effect of the resolution of the Court will affect the collection capacity of the government.

However, he assures that despite it, they will seek to maintain the growing collection that has been achieved.

And he strongly warns: we are going to have tax criminals in jail and we are going to continue collecting taxes.

In his argument, the official recalls that in 2020 with the immediate entry into force of the changes to the law, a taxpayer from the steel industry was regularized and paid 2 billion pesos.

Then the largest reparatory agreement in the history of the Federal Tax Office was reached with a group of supermarkets. Another computer company also approached to pay their taxes correctly and during that year many cases of companies that were regularized and they paid. The PFF filed 42 complaints for tax fraud and money laundering against the most important billing groups.

He also acted against those who bought invoices and filed complaints against outsourcing groups.

The arrest warrant was also issued with the most important outsourcing group in the country and this criminal group was deactivated.

He also persecuted the number one group of public resource diversion billers in the country.

And arrest warrants were issued against public officials who made the detours and also the two heads of the criminal group. All these actions allowed the collection to increase by 2 points of the Gross Domestic Product the collection. For his part, for Minister Javier Laynez, who was previously Federal Tax Attorney, rejects that the Court’s resolution affects the government’s collection and prosecution capacity. Why? Because the possibility of applying Justified Preventive Prison continues to exist.

What was done, says the magistrate, was to preserve the presumption of innocence.

The modifications to the law that allowed the Occupational Preventive Imprisonment go against the Constitution and international treaties. “Baptizing” tax crimes with a national security character and the Occupational Preventive Prison corresponds to an inquisitorial system.

The arguments of both parties have solid foundations. But there is no doubt that the Court clearly ruled in favor of constitutionality and the preservation of the presumption of innocence.

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