BRAZIL'S NEW SMALL BUSINESS LAW

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 000032

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STATE PASS USTR FOR CRONIN
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PGOV EFIN SOCI BR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL'S NEW SMALL BUSINESS LAW



1. (U) SUMMARY: President Lula signed legislation on December 14,
2006 that expanded the scope and coverage of previous efforts to
simplify the taxation system as applied to small and medium
enterprises (SME) in Brazil. When it comes into full effect in July
2007, the new law, known as "Supersimples", will consolidate into
one tax eight different federal, state and municipal taxes,
dramatically reducing the compliance and tax burden for businesses
with revenues under a ceiling of Reais 2.4 million (roughly USD 1.1
million). The GoB has not estimated how many companies will benefit
from the changes, but the 2.2 million SMEs that were beneficiaries
of the predecessor regime (Simples) will be automatically included
in the new regime. The GoB estimated it would be giving up Reais 5
billion (USD 2.3 billion) in federal tax revenue under the new law,
although this estimate does not account for potential increased
revenues generated by the reduction in informality that the law is
expected to encourage. The new law also aims to reduce
substantially the amount of time necessary to register a business by
creating a single registration for the national, state and municipal
governments. The legislation makes a modest effort to simplify some
formulaic work-place rules. The new legislation has the potential
to have a positive impact on the business climate for SMEs in
Brazil. END SUMMARY.

Background
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2. (U) The Brazilian Congress in December 2006 approved legislation,
signed by Lula on December 14, which expands the scope of Brazil's
previously existing "Simples" taxation regime for small businesses.
The 2.2 million small businesses that currently make use of the
Simples regime (i.e. small enterprises with annual revenues of up to
Reais 240,000 or USD 114,00) will be transferred to the enhanced
Supersimples system, which will include companies with annual
revenues of up to Reais 2.4 million (USD 1.14 million). When the
new legislation takes full effect in July 2007, SME beneficiaries of
the existing Simples regime are expected to see their tax burden
fall an additional 15 to 20 percent. Moreover, those SMEs
newly-eligible to participate under the expanded eligibility
criteria included in Supersimples may see their tax liabilities fall
by 40 to 60 percent. According to Federal Government data, micro
and small companies account for 99% of all formal companies in
Brazil. They employ some 54% of the labor force and produce an
estimated 20% of the Brazilian GDP. The Supersimples legislation
was submitted to Congress in 2004 after a period of public
consultation under the auspices of SEBRAE, Brazil's small-business
promotion agency.

Consolidates and Reduces Taxes
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3. (U) The new law expanded the previous consolidation of six
federal taxes (income tax, the industrial VAT known as IPI, social
security payments, and three "social contributions" known as PIS,
COFINS and CSLL),the Supersimples program will also include the
state-level VAT tax (ICMS) and a municipal tax (ISS). Companies
will make a single tax payment, dramatically reducing their
compliance burden, on a scale that varies with revenue levels and by
sector. Industrial enterprises will pay between 4.5% and 12.1% of
revenues, service providers (accountants, etc.) paying from 6% to
17.42% of revenues and commercial enterprises (e.g. retail) paying
between 4% and 11.61% of revenue. Under the existing Simples regime
companies were paying from 3% to 12.6% of revenues, but still had to
pay the state-level ICMS and municipal ISS separately. The three
levels of government will share these tax revenues. Self-employed
individuals will see a reduction in their social security payments.



4. (U) The Supersimples regime expanded the scope of its predecessor
regime by including additional sectors. The new program extended
the benefits to 21 new sectors, including civil construction,
accounting firms, language schools, providers of technical training,
real estate agents and publicity agencies. Law firms and business
consultancy firms were notably excluded. Participants in the
Supersimples regime will also receive other benefits. Government
entities will give preference to SMEs in the procurement of goods
and services of up to Reais 80,000 (USD 38,000). SME export

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earnings will not be taxed. In an attempt to ease the move into
formality for potentially eligible companies, these will be allowed
to restructure outstanding unpaid tax and social security system
debt over a period of 120 monthly payments. The law also allows for
a credit guarantee system to improve small businesses' access to
credit, but the details of the system remain to be worked out.

Cuts Red Tape
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5. (U) In addition to lowering the tax compliance burden by allowing
SMEs to make a single monthly tax payment in lieu of eight others,
the new law simplifies the process for company registration and the
procedures for opening and closing a company. SMEs will now have
only one official registration to complete, which will replace
previous separate filings at the federal, state and municipal
levels. Certain classes of enterprises, those whose activities are
judged not to pose risks to the environment, worker health or to be
fire hazards, will receive permission to start functioning
immediately, prior to receiving the approval of the environmental
agency or fire department.


6. (U) The new legislation makes a modest effort at simplifying some
of the formulaic requirements of Brazil's labor laws. Eligible
SMEs, for example, will no longer be required to enter into each
employee's labor registration booklet the dates on which the
employee took leave. Organized labor groups resisted more ambitious
reform to the labor code requirements applied to SMEs. The
Supersimples legislation also creates a standard nationwide
definition of what constitutes a small or medium enterprise, so that
benefits will be uniformly available across different states.


7. (SBU) Comment: The new law is a very useful step towards
improving the lot of small businesses in Brazil. Most analysts
believe it will contribute to reducing informality and increase
SME's capacity to invest and hire new employees. Much
implementation work remains to be done. That the modest easing of
rigid work-place rules for SMEs contained in this law became one of
the most controversial points of debate in Congress suggests there
is little appetite for more expansive labor reform. If successful,
the new law could perhaps provide an impetus for broader-based
reform, including tax simplification and labor reform.

SOBEL