Group working on tax reform report expected to conclude it this Tuesday

07/02/2024

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Arthur Lira — Foto: Bruno Spada/Câmara dos Deputados

Members of the working group responsible for discussing the main text of the regulation of the tax reform have made progress in ensuring that the exemption of animal protein in the basic food basket is included in the proposal.

The group responsible for drafting the report on the institution of the Tax on Goods and Services (IBS), Contribution over Goods and Services (CBS), and the Selective Tax (IS) conducted a new review of the report on Monday and will meet again on Tuesday to try and finalize the draft.

“There is an understanding among us that we should include animal protein,” Congressman Joaquim Passarinho told Valor.

One of the compensations under consideration for the inclusion without increasing the rate is that sports betting be taxed by the selective tax. The scope of the excise tax could also extend to electric cars, but a decision on this point has not yet been made.

More advanced, the working group of the Lower House on the bill that creates the management committee for the new IBS, created by the tax reform, finalized a draft report on Monday and sent it to the Extraordinary Secretariat for Tax Reform at the Ministry of Finance for evaluation.

According to Congressman Vitor Lippi, the report will reinforce a “friendlier tax authority” and fiscal citizenship. “There is no reason for the tax authority to be harsh on good taxpayers. It should be tough on bad taxpayers, evaders, and chronic debtors,” he said.

The lawmakers want to ensure harmony in the decisions of the management committee, which will manage the IBS, and the federal government, which will run the CBS.

The two taxes should follow the same rules and function, in practice, as a single tax, but there is fear among taxpayers of an increase in tax litigations due to divergent opinions between states and the federal government. Therefore, according to Mr. Lippi, the opinion will reinforce the requirement for harmonization in decisions on the two taxes and introduce measures to avoid litigation, with more possibilities for resolving disputes through administrative means.

The meeting included representatives from the federal government, states, and municipalities. Two of the seven members of the working group, Congressmen Vitor Lippi and Luiz Carlos Hauly, were at the meeting.

The working group members will meet with Finance Minister Fernando Haddad this Tuesday to discuss the text with the federal government. Later, there will be a public hearing with governors and state finance secretaries to discuss the proposal.

The lawmakers denied rumors that Speaker Arthur Lira had reached an agreement with the main parties in the Lower House to prohibit the presentation of amendments during the plenary discussion of the topic.

Although one of the texts is not yet finalized, there is an expectation that both groups will present their reports to the speaker and party leaders on Wednesday. The round of consultations with the party caucuses is expected to begin shortly thereafter.

This schedule was designed by Mr. Lira to facilitate the approval of the measures before the parliamentary recess.

*Por Raphael Di Cunto, Marcelo Ribeiro — Brasília

Source: Valor International

https://valorinternational.globo.com/