Source: Diário do Nordeste - Fortaleza / CE - 17/10/2010

"IPVA, IPTU, CPMF forever / It is so much tax / I don't even know! ... / ISS, ICMS / PIS and COFINS, for nothing". The piece of music by Alagoan composer Djavan echoes the outburst of many Brazilians who cannot bear to pay so many taxes.

What to expect from the Constitutional Amendment Proposal (PEC) 233 authored by the Executive Branch, which has been under discussion in the National Congress since February 2008? Is it possible to cut taxes without reducing actions in search of social justice? What changes in Brazilian tax legislation could actually benefit the taxpayer?

The National Federation of State and District Tax Authorities (Fenafisco), which represents taxation, collection and state inspection workers, criticizes the proposal that has been in progress for over 30 months in the Chamber of Deputies.

"The tax reform should correct the errors of the current tax system, rationalizing it, simplifying it and making it more just and social, which is not perceived in the proposal approved by the special commission", says an excerpt from the Federation's technical opinion About the subject.

The entity considers that the PEC does not simplify or rationalize the tax system, nor would it achieve other objectives that it proposes.

Government

According to the Federal Government's proposal, PEC wants to “simplify the national tax system, advance the tax exemption process”, in addition to “eliminating distortions that hinder the growth of the Brazilian economy and the competitiveness of companies, especially with regard to the so-called ´ fiscal war´ ”.

ICMS is the core

Harmonizing the legislation on the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS), which is a state responsibility, has been at the heart of the tax reform proposals sent to Congress since the Federal Constitution of 1988.

In PEC 233, a new ICMS is presented, which would be governed by national law and no longer by 27 laws of the states and the Federal District. For Fenafisco, however, this proposal has doubtful effectiveness and may generate legal uncertainty.

"In fact, there is a strengthening of the centralization of tax policies and revenues, as well as an increase in the tax entanglement that exists today, due to the multiple concessions that were made for the proposal to be approved", says the opinion of the entity. Another proposal is the creation of the Federal Value Added Tax (IVA-F), the largest revenue of which comes from the Contribution to the Social Integration Program (PIS) and the Contribution to the Financing of Social Security (Cofins). Fenafisco, on the other hand, considers that the VAT-F may provide an increase in the burden by using a tax base that exceeds the sum of the bases of the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS) and the Tax on Services (ISS). (CB)

COLLECTING INVOICE

Student has already received R $ 3 thousand

From invoice to invoice, student Janete Saraiva has been able to get back part of the tax amount she pays daily when consuming any product. From April 2006 to December 2009, she has already managed to receive around R $ 3 from participating in the Sua Nota vale Dinheiro campaign. Over the course of this year, she has already sent invoices to the Treasury Department twice, but is still awaiting receipt of new lots.

Meanwhile, it continues to collect other invoices in order to be partially reimbursed by taxes. “For every R $ 6 thousand in notes, I earn R $ 30. Worth almost anything (as long as it is higher than R $ 5)”, teaches the student. The campaign created by law No. 13.568, of December 30, 2004, became effective in 2005. Since then, Janete has started to collect tax documents. He asks for notes from family and friends and usually looks for them in supermarkets and other points of sale.

In addition, it encourages other people to do the same. In April 2006, he created a community on Orkut to guide and exchange tips with other campaign participants. The “Sua Nota Vale Dinheiro” community has 226 members.

According to Sefaz, the campaign intends, among other objectives, to motivate the issuance of tax documents, to make the population aware of the social function of the tax and to combat tax evasion. Despite some criticisms of public services, Janete praises certain government initiatives, such as cultural facilities, the Menezes Pimentel Library and the Dragão do Mar Cultural Center, and health, Albert Sabin Hospital, which she or her family have already used. "I see improvements, but there is no way to know exactly how taxes are applied," he says. (CB)