TCU calculates the CBS reference rate at 11.35% and exposes the knot of public accounts

The Federal Audit Court (TCU) calculated the reference rate for the Contribution on Goods and Services (CBS) at 11.35%, according to Estadão. The number was released about two months before CBS began charging, which leaves little time for companies and the government to adjust.

The disclosure came after two stages that usually define the direction of the country's accounts: the approval of the Budget for the year and the end of the national election. The question that remains is why the number was not on the table before these decisions.

Estadão recalls that the tax reform was discussed for around two years without calculating the cost of the change. A legal text can be debated for years, but revenue and impact on companies are numbers that should be at the beginning of the discussion, not at the end.

The reference rate is the starting point for measuring whether the tax exchange maintains revenue. Therefore, its late disclosure affects the reading of those who follow the topic. For the liberal line of this newspaper, without transparent calculation there is no sustainable fiscal responsibility.

The case shows a problem that goes beyond a number. While the cost of a reform does not appear in the accounts before decisions are made, the debate on taxes continues with incomplete data.

What changes for the investor

For those who invest and operate, the central point is predictability. A rate published close to collection tends to increase uncertainty about companies' tax planning and the path of public accounts. These factors usually appear in interest rates, exchange rates and in the evaluation of sectors most exposed to tax changes. The data collected does not allow us to predict the direction of prices, and monitoring the next official steps regarding the tax rate and the estimated cost of the reform is what remains concrete for the reader.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.