A taxation regarding electricity should be discussed during the tax reform approval process in the Federal Senate, as mentioned by the rapporteur of the process, senator Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM), during his participation in the Roda Vida program, last Monday (7).
“I have spoken with the minister [of Mines and Energy] Alexandre Silveira and with President Lula himself about the topic, I think that this issue of electrical energy and the energy sector, including the energy matrix, should be the subject of discussion in the tax reform ”, said the senator.
“When we live in the period of water crisis (2021), where we didn't have water in the reservoirs, we were dispatching and contracting thermoelectric plants at any price, we saw how much this cost the Brazilian consumer and how much it cost the competitiveness of the Brazilian economy. If we are talking about a tax reform that aims to establish structuring and competitive issues for the economy, the energy sector and the electrical sector need to be discussed. Now I cannot present a solution at the beginning of the debate, but I think that energy and the electricity sector definitely need to be debated in the tax reform”, he pointed out.
Learn it: Course on taxes on consumption and generation of electrical energy
Abradee (Brazilian Association of Electricity Distributors) defends the recognition of the essential nature of electrical energy for society, thus demanding differentiated taxation. Distribution companies accumulate an estimated annual turnover of between R$280 billion and R$300 billion, of which around 30% is allocated to paying taxes.
In 2021, the STF (Supreme Federal Court) ruled that the Electric energy should not be taxed according to the categories of superfluous goods, such as cigarettes or alcoholic beverages, ordering states to reduce the rate from 27% to an average of 18%.
The expectation of the electricity sector is that the IBS (Goods and Services Tax) and CBS (Contribution on Goods and Services) do not result in an increase in the tax burden on electricity, as this could result in an increase in tariffs for more than 89 million Brazilian consumers.
A Chamber of Deputies approved tax reform at the beginning of July (PEC 45/19), which simplifies taxes on consumption, provides for the creation of funds for regional development and to finance ICMS (Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services) credits until 2032, and unifies the legislation for new taxes.
According to the proposal, a complementary law will create the IBS, to encom the ICMS and the ISS; and CBS to replace PIS, PIS-Importação, Cofins and Cofins-Importação.
