Taxes in Brazil

In Brazil, the major tax guidelines are defined by the Federal Constitution, which sets down general principles, the limits of taxing authority, jurisdictions and the question of sharing of tax revenues.

Consequently, our National Tax System was instituted by the Constitution itself, which determines that the Union, States, Federal District and Municipalities can institute taxes, considering the power to tax as one of the inherent qualities of the State. Political-administrative autonomy, considered an essential characteristic of our federative system, grants each level of government the right to institute taxes, fees (corresponding to utilization of public services and police power) and contributions targeted at improvements (resulting from public works).

According to the 1988 Constitution (with the alterations introduced by Constitutional Amendment no. 3, dated 03/17/93), the taxes under the specific jurisdiction of the Union, States and Federal District and Municipalities are as follows, classified by their nature:

TAXES	JURISDICTION
Foreign Trade Taxes
- Import Tax – II	Union
- Export Tax – IE	Union
Taxes on Assets and Income
- Income Tax – IR	Union
- Rural Land Tax - ITR	Union
- Tax on Automotive Vehicles - IPVA	States
- Tax on Property Transmission Causa Mortis – ITCD	States
- Urban Building and Land Tax – IPTU	Municipalities
- Transmission Tax Inter Vivos - ITBI	Municipalities
Taxes on Production and Circulation:
- Industrialized Products Tax - IPI	Union
- Tax on Credit Operations, Exchange and Insurance – IOF	Union
- Tax on the Circulation of Merchandise and Interstate and Intermunicipal Transportation Services and Communications – ICMS	States
- Tax on Services of Any Nature - ISS	Municipalities

Note: The Federal District has both state and municipal taxing authority.

Aside from the taxes listed above, the Federal Constitution reserves exclusive authority to the Union to institute social contributions, contributions on intervention in the economic domain and those of interest to professional or economic categories. In the case of social contributions, one should stress that the States, Federal District and Municipalities may levy contributions on their civil servants in order to cover the costs of their Social Security and social assistance systems targeted to those workers.

Among social contributions, the following deserve mention:

• Contribution to Social Security Financing – COFINS
• Contribution to the Social Integration Program and Civil Service Asset Formation Program – PIS/PASEP
• Social Contribution on Net Corporate Profits – CSLL
• Provisional Contribution on Financial Operations – CPMF; and
• Social Security Contribution on payroll (employee/employer) and the self-employed.

Fone: www.receita.fazenda.gov.br