Source: Diário do Sul - Tubarão / SC - 28/06/2010

Corporate and regional interests are being held responsible for shaming the Tax Reform project waged in Congress. There are many more obstacles, such as a lack of political will, for example. That one speaks much louder. In this imbroglio, all the patches in the legislation have not brought enough results. On the contrary, increased costs. And in the rush for the developmentalist search, they end up displeasing “Greeks and Trojans”. Then, the fiscal war between states begins. Difficulty recognized by the Minister of Planning, Paulo Bernardo, in a recent participation in a Forum on the subject. There, he estimated up to 2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) the expenses of companies with departments and consultants specialized in unraveling the complex tax legislation in the country. And he said more: "It is a company that generates very high costs for society". What everyone is already tired of knowing. No news, therefore. As this is an election year, be wary of promises or beautiful words. The people want reform to go ahead.

While here, on September 1st, the Regulation of ICMS - Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services of the State of Santa Catarina, approved by Decree No. 2.870, of 27/08/2001, completes nine years. To give you an idea, to date (since others are already in the oven to take effect later) 2.370 changes in legislation have been published. Translating: a new wording (amendment) on a given theme, product or service in the ICMS. If we consider 22 working days / month in the 8 years and 10 months in force, one change every day. Understanding and discerning what the legislator really proposed when it was drafted is not always an easy task. And look, it's just talking about a state tax.

If, for tax agents, constant changes complicate the work, what about accountants? In addition to the ICMS, added to the other state taxes, the municipal, federal, and other legislation, such as labor, weighs on its shoulders, and so on. At the end, the customer / taxpayer, unscathed in the face of tax chaos. If you run, you will catch it. Stay, then, no way. It becomes easy prey.

Patchwork
In this tangle are added the Covenants, Protocols, Resolutions, Ordinances, Internal Guidelines, phew etc. Nothing different in other units of the federation. On these days, tax auditors from the State of São Paulo, visiting work, made the same comments. "It is crazy how much legislation we have to master", they said. Hence the reasons that require dedication, a lot of reading, discussions to answer questions accurately. At the tip of the tongue, even for scholars (most) it gets complicated. As an amulet, the tax legislation available on the Secretariat of Finance website, at www.sef.sc.gov.br. But synthesized with accessible didactics, the ICMS dictionary of tax auditor Almir Gorges has been a guardian angel. The previous Regulation was in force for four years, while the current one is beyond maturity. With such a degree of tax complexity it has already become, with its 11 annexes, a real patchwork.

Doing school
Servants of the Comptroller General of the city of Rio de Janeiro learned about the accounting controls of the Integrated System of Tax Planning and Management (Sigef), in addition to discussing other issues inherent to the area with professionals from the State Treasury of Santa Catarina. They were unanimous in saying that the control is meticulous and transparent with the promise of implanting it in that house. It is Santa Catarina serving as a model.

Intimations
Taxpayers must redouble their attention to the ICMS payment deadlines due for Tax Substitution (ST) in operations with goods from other non-signatory States (without an Agreement or Protocol signed with SC), as of July 1. There are a number of procedures to be followed. Similarly with the fuel sector, where 300 establishments are being asked to provide information to the inspection. In both cases, the service makes life easier for both the accountant and the accountant, thus avoiding the application of penalties by the tax authorities.

Tax Court
Servers responsible for the Process Preparation Body (OPP) in regional managements receive, this week, at the Fazendária School, updated knowledge on tax litigation, sanitation and processing of processes. With this, the time limits for judgments and the collection of tax debts become more agile.

Reflecting
“Let the flower of friendship be born carefully and sweetly. Gradually, she sees the light of day and becomes beautiful, exuberant ... ”A great week!