Senate CCJ approves basic text of Tax Reform regulations

The Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) of the Federal Senate approved this Wednesday (11) the basic text of the Tax Reform regulations. The project’s rapporteur, Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM), welcomed more than 600 of the 2,165 amendments presented by the senators.

Committee members must still vote on highlights, separate excerpts from the text, before the project is sent to the Senate plenary for a vote.

The president of the house, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) scheduled a plenary session for this Thursday (12).

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Already approved by the Chamber of Deputies, the regulatory project details how the three new consumption taxes created by the tax reform will be charged, the bases of which were enacted in 2023.

The project creates the rules for Value Added Tax (VAT), replacing five taxes (ICMS, IPI, ISS, PIS and Cofins) with three, which are the following: Contribution on Goods and Services (CBS, level federal), the Tax on Goods and Services (IBS, at state and municipal level), and Selective Tax (federal).

At the CCJ meeting, which lasted until this Wednesday night, CCJ parliamentarians sought to ensure that amendments not included could be reviewed by the rapporteur.

If approved this Thursday in the Senate Plenary, the regulatory project will return for a vote in the Chamber of Deputies. The rapporteur previously said that he had already spoken with the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), who would also have welcomed the text with the rules for the reform.

“I explained the text to the president (of the Chamber) Arthur Lira and also to the president (of the Senate) Rodrigo Pacheco. I also explained to the Chamber rapporteurs (…) I sincerely hope that we have managed to build an environment different from other circumstances”, stated Senator Eduardo Braga, who expressed optimism for approval in the plenary sessions of both legislative Houses.

The rapporteur highlighted that, when analyzing the amendments, special attention was paid to not harm educational financing. “If there was one topic that, in our report, had absolute priority, it was the issue of education, since 100% of the grants that companies will give for education are exempt from tax”.

Changes

Eduardo Braga guaranteed that at least 17 of 145 amendments presented by senators were approved after the report was delivered on Monday (9).

Among the changes approved at the meeting, the rapporteur approved amendments that provide for the temporary suspension of IBS and CBS in the supply of fresh agricultural products intended for industrialization for export.

There was also a decision on fuel rates, which must be approved by the Ministry of Finance and the tax Management Committee. “The calculations for setting the rates will be carried out, for the CBS, by the Special Secretariat of the Federal Revenue of Brazil and, for the IBS, by the IBS Management Committee, with data provided by the federated entities”, highlighted Eduardo Braga’s report.

The rapporteur also indicated that he accepted the request for taxation from Football Limited Companies (SAFs). “Thus, the rate for unified taxes, including CBS and IBS, is now 5% (previously it was 8.5%)”. Revenues from the transfer of athletes’ sporting rights and the transfer of athletes were excluded from taxation for five years.

Regarding the basic food basket, Senator Eduardo Braga accepted the need to make adjustments to the description of French bread for tax exemption. In the health sector, diabetes medicines were also included in the exemption list.

“We added medicines related to the diabetes mellitus line of care among those benefiting with zero rates from IBS and CBS”.

(With Agência Brasil)