The Nucleus for Fiscal Studies (NEF) of FGV’s Sao Paulo Law School (Direito SP), in partnership with Centro de Cidadania Fiscal [Center for Fiscal Citizenship] (CCiF), will host a debate on the reform of goods and services taxation proposal in Brazil this Friday, September 29, at 9 a.m.

CCiF’s proposal suggests replacing the five current taxes (PIS, Cofins, IPI, ICMS and ISS) with a single VAT (value added tax), named Imposto sobre Bens e Serviços [Tax on Goods and Services] (IBS), whose revenue would be shared between the Federal Government, states and municipalities, which is closer to best international practices.

“The main novelty of the proposal is the transition pattern for companies – progressively replacing the five current taxes with the IBS over a ten-year period – and for the federal distribution of IBS revenues, over a period of 50 years. Besides keeping the tax burden intact, this transition also mitigates many of the obstacles imposed by the opposition in previous tax reform proposals,” said Bernard Appy, director of CCiF.

According to Appy, the main benefits of the proposal include the massive simplification of the Brazilian tax system; a significant reduction in corporate tax payments and lower litigation on tax matters; the expanded investment rate; and the elimination of distortions that hinder the country’s productivity and growth potential.

To discuss the proposals, the event invited congressman Luiz Carlos Hauly (PSDB-PR), rapporteur of the Tax Reform Bill currently reviewed by the Brazilian House of Representatives; Alexandre Carvalho, director of regional, urban and environmental policies of IPEA; Gastão Alves de Toledo, special adviser to the Brazilian President; Caio Megale, secretary of Treasury of the Municipality of Sao Paulo; Clóvis Panzarini, partner at CP Consultores Associados and former Coordinator of Tax Administration of Sao Paulo; Martus Tavares, Vice President of Institutional Relations at Bunge Brasil and former Minister of Planning; Marcos Lisboa, President of Insper and former Secretary of Economic Policy of the Brazilian Treasury Department; and Samuel Pessôa, partner at consulting firm Reliance and associate researcher of FGV’s Brazilian Institute of Economics (IBRE). The debate will be moderated by the columnist of Estadão newspaper’s Economy section, Celso Ming.

Go to the website to register.