Tax reform may have two versions of aggregate taxes, says deputy

Federal deputy Reginaldo Lopes (PT-MG), who coordinates the tax reform working group in the Chamber of Deputies, said this Thursday (25) that the first phase of implementation of the Value Added Tax (IVA) may have two taxes in instead of just one.

According to him, there are still “mistrusts” between what the government intends, what the Legislature can offer and what the states and municipalities are willing to concede. The initial objective of the reform is to unite five taxes levied in different spheres of government: IPI, PIS and federal Cofins, state ICMS and municipal ISS.

“Maybe he [IBS, Imposto sobre Bens e Serviços]
have to be dual because you have to make a transition to break federative distrust. So that, in the future, we can come to the conclusion that the best thing would be a single VAT [Imposto sobre Valor Agregado]overcoming the distrust between us”, he told businessmen at an event promoted by the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp), in a record by Agência Câmara.

Lopes stated that the new tax resulting from the reform could be dual with three rates: in addition to the reference rate, which the government has been talking about at 25%; an “equilibrium” rate can be set for sectors such as health and education, and a zero rate. Lopes even quoted 15% as a break-even rate.

Secretary Bernard Appy, from the Ministry of Finance, said that “large municipalities are wanting to keep the ISS separate from the ICMS”, and that “no relevant country makes this separation”. “We are more than 50 years behind in this debate. And it is impossible, in the new economy, to separate goods from services. A problem that already exists today and will get worse over time”, he added.

“It is necessary that, in the text of the reform, effective mechanisms are contemplated that reduce this distrust. And certainly it will not be the implementation of a cashback that will lead to this. It will only increase mistrust”, added Josué Gomes da Silva, president of Fiesp.

Secretary Bernard Appy said that Minister Fernando Haddad wants to personally participate in the discussion of the reform in the next few days, in order to take the matter to the Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies still in the month of June.