The tax reform under discussion in the National Congress eliminates the possibility of granting incentives or financial benefits related to the Tax on Goods and Services (IBS), which would replace the current Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS) and the Tax on Services Any Nature (ISS).
This change in the Federal Constitution threatens the future of initiatives such as the Federal District Tax Regularization Incentive Program (Refis-DF). The ICMS and ISS correspond to almost all active debt, that is, what the Government of the Federal District (GDF) has to receive from debtors.
Launched in October, for example, Refis-DF 2023 provides for the possibility of renegotiating R$3.3 billion in debts. ICMS and ISS represent 96.26% of the total.
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“With the approval of the tax reform being processed in the National Congress, the granting of tax benefits, Refis, for the new tax created is prohibited”, emphasized the Secretary of Planning, Budget and Administration of the Federal District (Seplad-DF), Ney Ferraz.
Refis-DF
Refis-DF 2023 grants discounts of 40% to 99% on fines and interest on the principal value of debts that companies, mainly, have with the GDF. Individuals can also join the program.
Ney highlighted that the deadline for joining Refis-DF 2023 ends in 15 days, on November 30th. Those interested in renegotiating their debts must pay in full or, if they choose to pay in installments, they must pay 10% of the amount on the bill’s due date, on November 30th.
Until this Tuesday (14/11), R$ 1.4 billion in debts had been negotiated. Considering the application of discounts, the total value of debts that must be paid through the program, to date, is R$578.9 million, according to Seplad-DF.
In the case of those who have an infraction notice with the district tax authorities or want to offset the debt with court orders, the accession date is different: November 20th.
Tax reform
The text of the tax reform was approved by the Senate last Wednesday (8/11). Now, the matter will return to the Chamber of Deputies.
The project establishes that, in relation to IBS, “it will not be subject to the granting of incentives and financial or fiscal benefits related to the tax or specific, differentiated or favored taxation regimes, except in the cases provided for in this Constitution”.
This is exactly what Refis does: it provides an incentive to pay debts, especially the current ICMS and ISS, which represent the largest active debt liability. In the case of the DF, of the R$37 billion that the government has to receive, R$32 billion refers to ICMS and ISS.
The main point of the tax reform is the unification of five taxes that apply to products (PIS, Cofins and federal IPIs, state ICMS and municipal ISS) into one, called Value Added Tax (VAT), subdivided into federal and state/municipal .
In the current tax system, there is a cascade effect on the incidence of taxes — that is, the taxpayer pays tax on tax. VAT, in turn, is a tax that will be applied non-cumulatively. This means that tax will be charged on all transactions involving the purchase of goods or services, excluding what was previously paid.
The reform also provides, among other items, a mandatory “cashback” on the purchase of cooking gas for low-income families. This way, when purchasing the item, the consumer receives back part of the tax paid.
