The Chamber of Deputies began this Wednesday (13) the analysis of the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) 5/23, which expands tax immunity for temples of any cult. Authored by deputy Marcelo Crivella (Republicanos-RJ), the proposal needs to be approved in two rounds, with a maximum quorum, and then goes to the Senate for analysis.
The text, being analyzed in the plenary, is a substitute for rapporteur Fernando Máximo (União-RO). Previously, tax immunity was also extended to political parties, unions and non-profit education and social assistance institutions. However, the rapporteur announced that, after meeting with the Lula government, it was maintained only for religious entities.
Currently, tax exemption only covers income, assets and services related to religious and party organizations. The PEC of Crivella, who is a licensed bishop of the Universal Church and former mayor of Rio, provides that the exemption should be extended to temples of any religion.
Furthermore, immunity should apply to indirect taxation, such as construction and renovation of temples and works aimed at providing services to the community.
When approving the PEC, in the special commission, Máximo mentioned that the “proposal seeks to insert into the constitutional text what the Federal Supreme Court has already expressed as an appropriate interpretation, in order to guarantee the total effectiveness of the constitutional guarantee and avoid unnecessary administrative and judicial clashes” .
According to the text, the exemption from direct taxation will also apply to indirect taxation, such as the purchase of cement for works in the church. In this way, the Tax on Industrialized Products (IPI), the Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS) and the Tax on Services of Any Nature (ISSQN) will be covered.
Government conditions approval on support for tax reform
The initiative has already been discussed with government representatives and has been seen as a way of bringing the PT member closer to the evangelical public and religious leaders. However, during the first round discussion of the proposal, the government decided to condition the approval of the PEC on the approval of the tax reform regulations, still being processed in Congress.
The counterpart was designed to attract the vote of evangelicals to the tax agenda, but also to mitigate the impact that the tax waiver of the proposal would cause at a time of adjustment of public accounts.
The final text resulted from complex negotiations, which involved sensitive points for the government. One of the main ones was to prevent the exemption from applying to future assets acquired by churches, closing loopholes for possible abuse.
Furthermore, the scope of immunity was adjusted to protect only religious temples and their essential activities, excluding, for example, the commercial exploitation of properties acquired by churches.
It was also decided that a complementary law should be created to include state and municipal taxes in immunity. With these adjustments, the proposal gained support even from the PT, with opposition only from PSOL.
The issue gained strength after the repercussions over the end of a supposed “tax exemption” for religious leaders, such as priests and pastors, which would have been granted during the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL). The reason was the annulment, by the Federal Revenue, of an Interpretative Declaratory Act issued on July 29, 2022 by the then Revenue Secretary Julio César Vieira Gomes.
