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The Project By Hugo Leal Aims To Increase Taxes On Companies With Profits Above R$ 10 Billion, With Petrobras As The Main Target
Deputy Hugo Leal (PSD-RJ) – the general rapporteur of the 2022 Budget and an ally of the Speaker of the House, Arthur Lira (PP-AL) – formulated a bill aimed at increasing the Social Contribution on Net Income (CSLL) for companies with profits greater than R$ 10 billion. Thus, the tax could reach up to 20%. In this sense, one of the most affected companies, should the proposal be approved, will be Petrobras, whose profits are on an upward trend due to rising oil prices. The state-owned company’s exorbitant profits face criticism from both President Jair Bolsonaro and Arthur Lira, as well as other leaders of the Centrão.
The project comes just weeks after the Speaker of the House threatened to double taxes on Petrobras, in response to the company’s announcement of the increase in gasoline and diesel prices, although the government and congressional leaders opposed the measure.
Petrobras Has Extraordinary Profits Compared To The Largest Banks In Brazil
In order to justify the proposal, Hugo Leal highlights that in 2021, Petrobras – which sold all its stake in Deten Química – reported a profit of R$ 107 billion, while the five largest banks in the country (Caixa Econômica Federal, Itaú, Banco do Brasil, Bradesco, and Santander) together earned R$ 107.75 billion. Furthermore, the deputy also highlights the company’s profit during the first three months of this year, which reached R$ 44.5 billion.
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In this context, Leal states that the amounts presented demonstrate the fairness of the current bill. The rapporteur also mentions that, according to a report by Estadão, Petrobras has been recording a very low percentage of tax payments on profits compared to what would be expected based on the tax rates in force in Brazil.
The report shows that, since 2008, Petrobras has earned R$ 403 billion but has paid only R$ 62.7 billion in Corporate Income Tax (IRPJ) and CSLL, which corresponds to 15.6% of the total profit recorded over that period. The combined rate of these two federal taxes is 34%.
Hugo Leal’s Proposal Aims To Make Taxation Proportional To Company Profits
According to the bill proposed by Deputy Hugo Leal, taxes should be proportional to a company’s profit, regardless of the economic sector to which it belongs, with a progressive table for the collection of the Social Contribution on Net Income (CSLL). Thus, companies with profits between R$ 10 billion and R$ 29.9 billion should pay 15%, while those with net profits over R$ 30 billion per year will pay 20%.
Currently, the CSLL rate is 9%, however, in some sectors, the taxation is different. This is the case for banks and insurers, as the former must pay 21%, and non-banking financial institutions have a rate of 16%.
Leal argues that, today, the taxation of companies by the CSLL is not in line with the initial objective of this contribution, which was to fund social security. He defends that if the CSLL was established to tax the profits of legal entities, it is not possible or acceptable to establish a distinction among economic actors.
The deputy further adds that it is inconceivable that the taxation of profits is differentiated solely based on the activity in question.
Data Indicates Petrobras As The Most Profitable Publicly Traded Company In The Country
Petrobras is currently the most profitable publicly traded company in Brazil. The net profit reported in the last 12 months is R$ 150 billion, according to the economic information company Economatica. Following the state-owned company is Vale, with a profit of R$ 113.7 billion. In third, fourth, and fifth places, respectively, are Itaú Unibanco (R$ 26.3 billion), JBS (R$ 23.6 billion), and Bradesco (R$ 22.8 billion).
Economatica also states that, among the 398 publicly traded companies that present financial statement history for the last 12 months, only 12 had profits exceeding R$ 10 billion, which corresponds to about 3%. Thus, the proposal would impact only a small number of Brazilian companies.
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