The (Comptroller General of the Union) fired the former secretary of the Federal Revenue after an investigation into what he had, especially the .
The body also suspended tax auditor Alex Assis de Mendonça for 45 days for the same administrative process. The two decisions were signed by the substitute CGU minister, Evalise Martins Brito, and published in the Official Gazette of the Union this Monday (1st).
The reason for the dismissal of the former secretary of the Federal Revenue, to former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), was an investigation into the use of the position to favor evangelical pastors, according to the Panel.
In 2022, on the eve of the electoral campaign, Gomes signed a measure that expanded the scope of the exemption from social security contributions on pastors’ remuneration — the so-called prebends. At the time, Bolsonaro sought to consolidate evangelical support for his re-election bid.
After the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), in 2023, ADI (Interpretive Declaratory Act) No. 1 was considered atypical by members of the Tax Authorities and underwent a new analysis within the body. In January 2024, the IRS decided to cancel the exemption that had been granted.
Technicians stated that the measure signed by Gomes explicitly expanded the cases of exemption and buried once and for all the inspection processes over the remuneration of pastors still ongoing within the scope of the Revenue.
At the time, Gomes denied that there was any atypicality in the act and said that all the rules of his administration were regular and followed due process. showed that one of the points detected, according to those involved in the analysis, is that the edition of the act did not undergo technical evaluation by the Revenue sub-secretariat of taxation.
Bolsonaro cited the Tax Authority’s ADI in his first campaign act, on August 16, 2022, in a meeting with religious leaders in Juiz de Fora (MG).
On the occasion, he began his speech by responding to a request for a solution to Revenue charges. “The claim has already been accepted, [o ato] is published in the Official Gazette of the Union”, said the then president, adding that the measure was still not being complied with due to “persecution” of pastors.
Behind the act published by the Bolsonaro government was the so-called prebend, remuneration received by pastors and religious leaders for services provided to churches.
The law exempts the prebend from collecting social security contributions, as long as it is related to religious activity and does not depend on the nature or amount of work.
The IRS, however, detected in recent years that some churches used the prebend to circumvent inspection and distribute a type of profit sharing to pastors who brought together the largest groups of faithful (benefiting leaders of temples in large cities or neighborhoods, for example) or the largest tithe collections.
The tax authorities imposed million-dollar fines and demanded the payment of a 20% social security tax on the amounts paid to pastors, directors and religious leaders. The auditors’ understanding was that the exemption did not apply to variable remuneration mechanisms.
From then on, the search for tax forgiveness and relaxation of rules became a priority agenda for the evangelical group in the National Congress.
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