Senate CCJ will hold four debates on tax reform this week

The Senate’s Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) should dedicate itself to the debate on the regulation of tax reform this week. There will be four public hearings to analyze the project that regulates the new taxes (PLP 68/2024), provided for in Constitutional Amendment 132. The focus of the debates will be the effects of the project on various sectors of the economy.

On Tuesday (12) there will be two public hearings. At 10 am, the CCJ will debate the effects of tax reform on health. The project, which will be voted on in the CCJ before going to the plenary, provides that medicines and some medical devices and for people with disabilities will have a lower incidence of new taxes – the Contribution on Goods and Services (CBS) and the Tax on Goods and Services (IBS). The same will happen with health services and health plans.

To debate the repercussions of the new rules on health, the CCJ will hear from at least eight guests. Among them is the CEO of the Brazilian Association of Pharmacies and Drugstores (Abrafarma), Sergio Mena Barreto, and the president of the National Association for Support for People with Disabilities (AnaPcD), Abrão Dib. Representatives from the insurance sector, supplementary pensions, health plans, among others, have already confirmed their presence.

Financial services

On Tuesday afternoon (12), at 2:30 pm, another public hearing is scheduled to hear representatives of financial institutions about the impacts of PLP 68/2024 on the sector, which will be governed by special rules. Among the topics, betting and the split payment mechanism will be covered, which will allow the automatic collection of taxes when a purchase is made, through the integration between payment methods and invoice.

To this end, the president of the National Confederation of Financial Institutions (CNF), Rodrigo Maia, who is a former deputy and former president of the Chamber, and the representative of the Brazilian Association of Payment Institutions (Abipag), Heleno Torres, will participate in the hearing. Representatives from the credit card services sector, reinsurance and the Ministry of Finance were also invited.

Other special rules

The other sectors subject to specific rules for consumption taxation, such as the tourism and hotel sectors, will be heard by the CCJ on Wednesday (13), at 2:30 pm.

The following groups will be represented, among others:

• parks and tourism, by the representative of the Integrated System of Parks and Tourist Attractions (Sindepat), Thiago Xavier;
• of hotels, by the president of the Brazilian Hotel Industry Association (Abih), Manoel Cardoso Linhares;
• of restaurants, by the executive president of the Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants (Abrasel), Paulo Solmucci Júnior.
• of real estate agents, by the representative of the Federal Council of Real Estate Brokers (Cofeci) Pedro Henrique de Andrade Nogueira Lima.

Infrastructure and real estate

The real estate sector will also be the topic of this week’s fourth public hearing, scheduled for Thursday (14) at 10 am. The debate will also cover areas of infrastructure, such as energy, basic sanitation and railway transport.

The following guests confirmed their participation:

• the executive president of the Brazilian Biogas Association (Abiogás), Renata Isfer;
• the executive director of the National Association of Private Concessionaires of Public Water and Sewage Services (Abcon), Christianne Dias Ferreia;
• representatives from the telecommunications sector: the executive president of CONEXIS Brasil Digital, Marcos Ferrari; and the president of the NEO Association, Rodrigo Schuch;
• the representative of the Brazilian Wind Energy Association (Abeeolica), Marcello Cabral;
• the executive director of the National Association of Railway Transporters (ANTF) Davi Ferreira Gomes Barreto.

Work plan

Three public hearings have already been held out of 11 foreseen in the CCJ work plan, presented by the rapporteur, senator Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM)to analyze PLP 68/2024.

The President of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG)said he expected the text to be approved in 2024.

Tax reform

The tax reform was enacted in December last year, through Constitutional Amendment 132. The text unifies five taxes – ICMS, ISS, IPI, PIS and Cofins – into a single charge, divided between the federal (CBS) and state/state levels. municipal (IBS).

The change is the result of the proposed amendment to the Constitution (PEC) 45/2019, which was also reported by Eduardo Braga.

In April of this year, the Executive Branch sent PLP 68/2024 to the National Congress, which regulates tax reform. The text was approved in July by the Chamber of Deputies and forwarded to the Senate.

(With Senado Agency)