Commission approves PEC that expands tax immunity to religious entities

The Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) 5/23, which expands the tax immunity granted to religious entities, was approved this Tuesday (27) by the special committee of the Chamber of Deputies. The proposal, authored by deputy Marcelo Crivella (Republicanos-RJ) and other parliamentarians, now goes to the plenary for analysis.

The approved text was a substitute for rapporteur Fernando Máximo (União-RO). Previously, tax immunity was also extended to political parties, unions and non-profit education and social assistance institutions. However, the rapporteur announced that, after meeting with the Lula government, it was maintained only for religious entities.

Currently, tax exemption only covers income, assets and services related to religious and party organizations. The PEC of Crivella, who is a licensed bishop of the Universal Church and former mayor of Rio, provides that the exemption should be extended to temples of any religion.

Furthermore, immunity should apply to indirect taxation, such as construction and renovation of temples and works aimed at providing services to the community.

In the approved report, Máximo mentions that the “proposal seeks to insert into the constitutional text what the Federal Supreme Court has already expressed as an appropriate interpretation, in order to guarantee the total effectiveness of the constitutional guarantee and avoid unnecessary administrative and judicial clashes”.

According to the approved text, the exemption from direct taxation will also apply to indirect taxation, such as the purchase of cement for works in the church. In this way, the Tax on Industrialized Products (IPI), the Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS) and the Tax on Services of Any Nature (ISSQN) will be covered.

Voting and promulgation

With the approval of the proposal in the committee, the text goes to vote in the Chamber plenary, where it needs to be approved in two rounds by at least 308 federal deputies. It then goes to the Federal Senate for analysis.

As soon as the proposal is approved in Congress, the author of the PEC, Marcelo Crivella, informed the Value that President Lula should promulgate the project during Holy Week, probably at the end of March.

The initiative was discussed with government representatives and has been seen as a way of bringing the PT member closer to the evangelical public and religious leaders.

The issue gained strength after the repercussions over the end of a supposed “tax exemption” for religious leaders, such as priests and pastors, which would have been granted during the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL). The reason was the annulment, by the Federal Revenue, of an Interpretative Declaratory Act issued on July 29, 2022 by the then Revenue Secretary Julio César Vieira Gomes.