The Federal Senate approved this Thursday (9) bill (PL) 2.541/21, which extends for two years the exemption from payroll for 17 sectors of the economy. The text goes to presidential approval.
Although some senators have argued about the inclusion of certain business activities, the PL has not changed. If there were any additions, the project would return to the Chamber to be analyzed again. The rapporteur, Senator Veneziano Vital do Rêgo (MDB-PB), claimed that there was a need to guarantee the renewal before the end of the year. “We are facing temporal iniquity. December 31 is the deadline”, he stated in plenary.
The exemption approved covers 17 sectors, including: communication, information technology (IT), urban public transport by road and subway, civil construction and textiles and infrastructure, manufacturing of vehicles and derivatives, and others.
Payroll exemption is a way to change the contribution paid by companies to encourage the growth of sectors and the generation of jobs. Instead of the regular contribution of 20% on the payroll, exempt companies pay only 1% to 4.5% of the gross revenue generated in the year. The estimate of the Ministry of Economy is that 6 million formal jobs will be preserved with the exemption.
During the session, senators argued that the successive extensions of the tax exemption law (law 12,546 of 2011) are harmful, as they do not constitute a permanent rule for the sectors and compromise the budget planning of companies.
With the exemptions, the estimate is that the government will not collect around R$ 10 billion in 2021.
*With information from the Senate Agency.
