New tax reform proposes changes to the basic basket and selective taxes

The senator and tax reform rapporteur, Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM), filed a project to regulate a text that proposes important adjustments to the basic food basket and the selective tax last Monday, December 9th. The reporting senator stated that 645 amendments were attacked with two thousand changes to the initial proposal. According to him, the changes in the reform defend legal balance and security. The Commission meeting that would continue the matter was canceled due to the number of parliamentarians present, which was not enough, but there are still expectations that the meeting will end this week.

Taxes on new products

The proposal places weapons, ammunition and derivatives from the Iberian industry in the sin tax, which is a specific tax for goods that are considered harmful to the environment and health. The rapporteur also placed plastic bags and straws, but due to enormous pressure from senators allied with the industry in the segments, he backed down. Another change was regarding the gas cylinder, which included a refund of the tax rate to 13 kg.

Cheeses and meats in the basic basket, but without the oil

The report on the complementary tax reform bill also presented to the Senate's Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) also kept meat and cheese in the national basic basket. However, even with this change, there were cuts in corn oil from the exemption equivalent to the reduced 40% rate. The project's rapporteur explains that removing corn oil from the exemption allows equal treatment for other vegetable oils, only soybean oil remains tax-free. Now there will be a total of 15 items in the national basic food basket exempt from VAT, such as rice, bread, milk and beans. Deputies in the Chamber included meats, cheeses, flour, oats, corn oil and salt, including 22 items present in Brazilians' baskets.

_{Brazilian Federal Senate (Photo: reproduction/Segio Lima/Getty Images Embed)}

The report proposed a deadline of 90 days, counting from December 2030, for the government to send a project to Congress that reduces tax incentives if the Value Added tax rate exceeds 26.5%. Thus, weapons and new products in the basic basket would have selective taxes.

Featured photo: food from the basic food basket (Reproduction/Geraldo Bubniak/ AEN)