Tax reform: videocast debates the effects of regulation on agribusiness

Tax reform: videocast debates the effects of regulation on agribusiness

Lawyer Eduardo Lourenço, partner at Maneira Advogados and doctor in tax law, is the second interviewee in the eight-episode series

Antonio Temóteo
Special Macroeconomics Reporter

Congress concluded last Tuesday, the 17th, the regulation of part of the tax reform in the search for simplifying the system, with the unification of taxes. The text still needs to be sanctioned by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

In the second episode of the special series on the topic, EXAME interviewed the lawyer Eduardo Lourenço, partner at Maneira Advogados, doctor in Tax Law and consultant for the Frente Parlamentar da Agropecuária (FPA). The expert evaluated the effects of the regulation on agribusiness and stated that the proposal approved by the Legislature is positive in the search for simplification.

According to him, the reform brings specific benefits to the sector, such as the 60% reduction in taxation on agricultural inputs and the effective relief from exports. The text also defined the concept of rural production, which covers fresh products and those that have undergone basic processing processes, such as threshed corn.

Small rural product

The regulations, stated Lourenço, also defined that rural producers with annual revenues of up to R$3,600,000 are considered taxpayers, but can choose not to participate in the debit and credit system. To avoid breaking the chain, a presumptive credit system was created for purchasers of rural production from these small producers.

Fast track

The text also created the “fast track” mechanism which, according to Lourenço, allows the list of agricultural inputs with a reduced rate to be updated by infra-legal act, without the need to approve a new law.

“This provides agility in the inclusion of new products and ensures that the list is updated according to technological innovations”, he stated.

Suspension of export taxes

Industries that purchase rural products with the main objective of exporting can purchase these items with suspension of taxation, guaranteeing effective relief from exports, said Lourenço.

Selective Tax

Sugary and alcoholic drinks will be subject to selective tax. In the case of alcoholic beverages, there will be different rates depending on the content.

Small artisanal producers of alcoholic beverages are exempt from the selective tax.

Next Steps

The regulation of tax reform still depends on President Lula's sanction. After this phase, the standard rate will need to be defined by the Federal Audit Court (TCU).

In addition, the Federal Revenue will need to work on ordinances and decrees on the subject. The regulation of the IBS and CBS management committee also needs to be approved by Congress.

Understand tax reform

The main effect of the reform is to unify five taxes — ICMS, ISS, IPI, PIS and Cofins — into a single charge, which will be divided between the federal levels with CBS, and state and municipal levels, with IBS. These two consumption taxes form theVAT.

Both the Chamber of Deputies established a lock on the future general tax rate, which cannot exceed 26.5%.

The government will have to create measures to comply with the percentage that, due to exceptions and differentiated regimes on certain goods and services, was estimated in August by the Ministry of Finance at almost 28%.

https://exame.com/economia/reforma-tributaria-videocast-debate-os-efeitos-da-regulamentacao-para-o-agronegocio/