A Tax reform It was approved by the Senate this Wednesday (8) and has already generated concern in several sectors, especially services. As analyzed by experts, there is a fear that specific segments will be more affected than others, such as residential condominiums.
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The estimate is that the changes will generate an increase of between 2.1% and 6.5% in the condominium fee. However, the condos they will not be the only ones affected, as the increase in prices may occur across the sector generally, affecting various services.
On the other hand, experts say that the new legislation could reduce the costs of services, and that the consumer would be rewarded by the reduction in taxes on other items.
According to the Brazilian Service Sector Central (Cebrasse), the reform should increase taxes charged on surveillance, security and cleaning companies, which could consequently increase the value of condominium fees.
For Jorge Segeti, technical director at Cebrasse, the text approved by the Senate mainly impacts activities that provide direct services to the end consumer, including taxis, running apps and beauty salons. This is because the activities are based on employee labor, which reduces companies' access to tax credit.
With the reform, there will be a unification of federal taxes and state taxes. The expectation is that Value Added Taxes (VAT) will reach around 27.55%. The initial forecast was 25%. Thus, the federal taxes PIS, Confins and IPI will be unified into the CBS (Contribution on Goods and Services). The state ICMS tax and the municipal ISS tax will be unified into the IBS (Goods and Services Tax).
The main issue in the services sector since the beginning of discussions about tax reform has been payroll tax relief. According to Jorge Segeti, even if the sector is not against the implementation of VATs, the reduction in payroll taxes is essential to prevent consumers from bearing increases.
“The sheet was not changed, and the wage continues to be taxed at 40%. For an employee who receives R$1,000, for example, you spend R$400 in taxes. And this does not include 13th salary or vacation. It's just taxes that go to social security. This point was not changed. It’s still heavy”, explained Segeti.
In other words, if there is no compensation for payroll taxes, there will be an increase in charges to the end consumer. In this case, residents will have to pay higher prices for services contracted by the condominium.
Another point that will influence the value of condominiums is the low tax credit that companies focused on services will have. Tax credit is a mechanism in which each stage of the production chain deducts, at each stage, the taxes already paid in previous stages.
In this way, the services cleaning and security, for example, is entitled to lower credits. This is because the activities spend more on employee salaries than on inputs produced in the production chain.
By not benefiting from the tax credit and being impacted by payrolls, the services sector becomes the most affected by the reform. Therefore, what should happen with the tax reform, if there is no change in the text, is a very high increase in services in general.
