THE DIAGNOSIS DATE AS A CRITERION FOR FISCAL JUSTICE

A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF INCOME TAX EXEMPTION FOR PATIENTS WITH SERIOUS DISEASES

Abstract

This article presents a critical and up-to-date bibliographic review (2024 –2025) of the legal regime for the exemption of Income Tax on retirement benefits for individuals with serious illnesses, focusing on the interpretive conflict between the medical diagnosis criterion and the requirement of an official report as the starting point for granting the benefit, situating it within the perspective of the welfare state and as a protective social tax policy. The methodology involves the analysis of primary sources (tax legislation, jurisprudence from the STJ and TRF1, and recent 2024 decisions) and secondary sources (specialized legal doctrine). The study demonstrates that Decree No. 3,000/1999, by establishing the date of issuance of the official report as the starting point for the exemption, exceeds the limits of regulatory power and contradicts the social purpose of Law No. 7,713/1988, undermining its effectiveness as an instrument of social justice. The conclusion points to the necessity of the prevalence of the medical diagnosis criterion as an expression of the constitutional principles of human dignity, reasonableness, and tax justice, which are essential for the realization of state obligations within the scope of social welfare.