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The family of the presenter Silvio Santos, who passed away in August of last year at the age of 93, is facing a legal dispute involving the amount he left behind. The presenter’s inheritance, valued at around R$ 429.9 million, is at the center of a tax-related controversy. The greater part of this amount, approximately R$ 428 million, is deposited in international accounts in the Bahamas, specifically at the institution Daparris Corp Ltd, which was presided over by Silvio Santos. The Bahamas are known as a tax haven, which adds a level of complexity to the application of the tax in Brazil. The fortune gave rise to disagreements relating to the Tax on Transmission Causa Mortis and Donation (ITCMD).
Silvio Santos’s widow and his six daughters decided to take legal action against the State of São Paulo, contesting the collection of R$ 18 million in tax. The family argues that the collection is improper, since the money is outside Brazil. The proceeding was initiated on December 13, 2024.
The prosecutor Paulo Gonçalves da Costa Júnior, in a submission in the case, questioned the origin of the assets and the presence of property in tax havens, alleging that the greater part of the estate attributed to the inheritance is surprising in that it is linked to accounts and equity interests abroad, specifically in the Bahamas.
“Silvio Santos, or Senor Abravanel, was a widely recognized figure in Brazil, with economic activities and assets well known in the country. It is curious that a large part of the inheritance is associated with an entity headquartered in a tax haven, hitherto unknown to the public,” the prosecutor noted.
Decision favorable to the family
The Court of Justice of São Paulo (TJSP) granted a preliminary injunction in favor of Íris Abravanel, Silvio Santos’s widow, and of her six daughters: Patrícia, Rebeca, Cintia, Silvia, Daniela and Renata Abravanel. The decision temporarily exempts the heirs from paying the tax normally applied in inheritance situations.
The injunction, issued by Judge Luis Manoel Fonseca Pires, of the 3rd Public Treasury Court (3ª Vara da Fazenda Pública), was signed on December 19, 2024, but only became public in early January 2025, after the year-end recess.
The decision recognized possible excesses in the collection of the tax and ordered the temporary suspension of the demand. The magistrate emphasized that the measure also prevents the names of the heirs and the widow from being entered into registers of defaulters, such as Serasa, due to the tax liability.
“I grant the urgent relief to suspend the enforceability of the disputed portion of the ITCMD tax in the amount calculated by the plaintiffs, and to prevent the plaintiffs from being entered into the credit protection services, if the reason is the debt at issue here,” the judge stated.
Despite the favorable decision, access to the international accounts remains blocked, and the injunction deals exclusively with the suspension of the immediate payment of the tax.
The TJSP plans to schedule a conciliation hearing to try to resolve the impasse between the parties. However, to date, there is no defined date for that meeting.
Juliana Assolari, tax attorney, partner at Lassori Advogados, assesses that the legal dispute involving the non-incidence of the ITCMD on the assets abroad should not affect the public image of the Abravanel family. “The claim is grounded in the understanding of the Federal Supreme Court (STF). In addition, the non-payment of the tax will represent a significant saving for the heirs,” she points out.
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