Revenue starts charging BRL 90 billion from large companies – 05/25/2023 – Panel SA

The Federal Revenue sent a letter to five thousand big businessmen asking that, until the end of July, they regularize the taxes owed. The initiative follows a decision by the STJ (Superior Court of Justice) that allowed the collection of Income Tax and CSLL on tax benefits granted by states.

The Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, expects to receive around R$90 billion from this and, thus, guarantee more than half of the R$150 billion in extraordinary revenues so that the government can effectively take off with its public investment plan.

Under tax rules passed by Congress, the more revenue, the more the government can spend and invest.

The problem is that the companies, assisted by the biggest law firms, say they have nothing to pay and, therefore, consider going to court as soon as they receive the assessments.

This is because, according to the lawyers, the Treasury did not obtain as favorable a decision from the STJ as it imagines.

According to the companies heard by the column, the STJ only confirmed what is already in the law — the tax will be due when the resources resulting from the benefit are not used in the project.

Retailers, assemblers and food producers say that their state benefits are even accounted for separately so that their use in the activity itself is explicit.

In the letter, to which Panel SA had access, the Revenue Service recognizes this particularity of the law, but claims to have verified “evidence that there was undue exclusion from the calculation bases of the Corporate Income Tax (IRPJ) and the Social Contribution on o Net Profit (CSLL) from amounts as investment subsidies”.

It requests that, until July 31 of this year, the taxpayer regularize his situation under penalty of being fined.

It also says that, for those who consider their tax situation to be in compliance, they should present the “devices of the state legislation that granted the ICMS tax benefits (…), and the calculation memory of the excluded values”.

The companies consider that the declarations have already been made and that, now, it is up to the tax authorities to prove that they are in an irregular situation.

They evaluate, through their lawyers, suing the Union. If this occurs, payments will be made through escrow deposits until the discussion is closed.

The initiative could thwart the plan of Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, who has BRL 90 billion in the Treasury’s cash resulting from the tax already charged by the Revenue of these companies.

With Diego Felix

PRESENT LINK: Did you like this text? Subscriber can release five free hits of any link per day. Just click the blue F below.