Civil Construction
Tax Management
Service Provision
July 21, 2022
Tax planning for a service company for civil construction in the municipality of Curitiba
DOI: 10.22167/2675-6528-20220025
E&S 2022,3: e20220025
Dayane Campos Souza e Raissa Alvares de Matos Miranda
Tax planning, also called tax avoidance, determines in advance what the company’s objectives are and how to achieve them, whether through reduction, deferral, or even exemption from taxes[1]. Therefore, tax planning should be understood as a lawful way to reduce the tax burden[2], and as an effective business strategy tool[3].
Therefore, based on the accounting information of a company established in the second half of 2020, with the purpose of developing an activity of intermediation and agency of services and businesses, in general, it defined the tax regime that would allow for greater savings on federal taxes (Corporate Income Tax [IRPJ], Social Contribution on Net Profit [CSLL], PIS, and COFINS) and the municipal tax on service provision (ISS), under the Simples Nacional and Presumed Profit regimes.
The actual profit regime was not analyzed in this work due to the company’s recent creation, a fact that directly impacts the resources available for calculation under this regime, which, in addition to having a high cost, is of high complexity[4].
As provided in art. 258 of the RIR/18[5], the actual profit must be determined based on the profit presented by accounting, which, unlike Presumed Profit and Simples Nacional, demands intense rigor with accounting records.
Furthermore, considering that the company does not intend to adhere to tax benefits and does not have as its main input goods that allow the use of PIS/COFINS credits, the advantages of the actual profit system would not be enjoyed by the company, which would only face greater complexity in tax calculation and higher accounting expenses.
The analysis of the tax regimes was carried out based on the revenues and expenses that occur in the current reality of the company and in future contracts. Thus, the gross annual revenue was considered to be R$ 900,000.00, representing R$ 75,000.00 monthly. Currently, the company is under the Simples Nacional tax regime, paying taxes based on Annex III1 of Complementary Law No. 123/06[6], due to the activity developed, subject to rates ranging from 6% to 33%, as shown in Table 1, indicating that the amount of taxes paid in the 12-month period (calendar year) under Simples Nacional is R$ 108,360.00:
Table 1. Calculation of the Tax under Simples Nacional Annex III
| Approximate Monthly Gross Revenue | BRL75,000.00 |
| Gross Revenue Accumulated in the last 12 months (approximate) | BRL900,000.00 |
| Tax rate (band 4) | 16% |
| Deductible Installment (band 4) | BRL35,640.00 |
| Value with application of the Rate (16%) | BRL900,000.00×16%=BRL144,000.00 |
| Value deducted from the installment to be deducted | BRL144,000.00-BRL35,640.00=BRL108,360.00 |
| Effective tax rate | BRL108,360.00÷BRL900,000.00≅12.04% |
| Monthly National Simple Tax | BRL75,000×12.04%=BRL9,030.00 |
| Approximate annual value of the Simples Nacional | BRL9,030.00×12=BRL108,360.00 |
Source: Elaborated by the author
The same parameters were used in determining the tax under the Presumed Profit regime, as shown in Table 2. Due to the activity performed by the company under study – intermediation – the calculation base for both Income Tax and Social Contribution on Net Income represents 32% of this revenue (presumption percentage).
Table 2. Calculation of Taxes under the Presumed Profit Regime
| Monthly Billing | BRL75,000.00 |
| Quarterly Revenue | BRL225,000.00 |
| Presumed Calculation Basis (32%) | BRL72,000.00 |
| Value with the application of the Income Tax rate (15%) on quarterly revenue | BRL10,800.00 |
| Value with application of the surcharge for revenue exceeding R$ 60,000.00 in the quarter (10%) | BRL1,200.00 |
| Total Income Tax | BRL12,000.00 |
| Value with application of the CSLL rate (9%) on quarterly revenue | BRL6,480.00 |
| Total IR and CSLL quarterly | BRL18,480.00 |
| Total annual Income Tax and Social Contribution on Net Income | BRL73,920.00 |
| Value with application of the PIS rate (0.65%) on the monthly revenue | BRL487.50 |
| Value with application of the COFINS rate (3%) on the monthly revenue | BRL 2,250.00 |
| Total monthly PIS/COFINS | BRL2,737.50 |
| Total PIS/COFINS annual | BRL32,850.00 |
| Value with the application of the ISS rate (2.5%) on the monthly revenue | BRL 1,875.00 |
| Total annual ISS | BRL22,500.00 |
| Total annual taxes due | BRL129,270.00 |
Source: Elaborated by the author
Therefore, given such analyses and considering the company’s current scenario, it was identified that the Simples Nacional regime is the one that best provides tax savings, as it corresponds to a saving of 16.17% in taxes compared to Presumed Profit, the equivalent of R$ 20,910.00, which can be allocated to other purposes.
In this way, the institute of tax avoidance aims, through lawful means, to reduce the taxable base or avoid the occurrence of the taxable event, curbing the emergence of the tax obligation or reducing the amount to be paid[7]. For such planning to be effective, it is essential that it is aligned with strategic planning, which consists of an administrative technique, whose external and internal elements of the company are analyzed with the objective of defining the corporation’s opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses[8].
Thus, it is clear that tax planning must be adopted from a multidisciplinary perspective, involving mainly knowledge in law, accounting, and administration. This is because tax planning can be operational, dealing with formal procedures provided for in norms or customs, or strategic, which affects, for example, the company’s capital structure, location, tax system, and corporate organization[9].
Good strategic tax management relies on diagnosis, aspects, and action fronts, the latter being defined by the best tax system for the economic activity, in this case, Simples Nacional.
The first phase of the diagnosis consists of an analysis of the company’s scenario, considering tax and corporate elements, aiming for future prospecting. Thus, based on this institute, it was found that the company studied is a limited liability company and is located in the Municipality of Curitiba, it has a fixed monthly profit distribution and is included in the Simples Nacional tax system, operating in the service of intermediation, subject to ISS.
The second and third stages of the diagnosis[7] encompassed the development of tax and corporate alternatives, as well as the implementation of the identified hypotheses. In this case, the analysis was limited to defining the tax system, concluding that the Simples Nacional regime is the one that provides the greatest tax savings.
Finally, the aspects map the risks and the probability of events occurring in relation to each tax planning possibility constructed, in order to avoid burdens on the legal entity and the entrepreneurs. Therefore, we sought to define the Break-Even Point between the Simples Nacional regime and Presumed Profit, with the aim of identifying when the tax system should be changed, maintaining current conditions and aiming to preserve the option for the system that promotes greater tax economy while meeting business objectives.
Thus, through the iterative method, the monthly revenue of R$ 213,350.11 was defined, a value whose taxation under the Simples Nacional and Presumed Profit regimes are identical, meaning that the company’s revenue, which was previously R$ 75,000.00, will exceed the equivalence value between the aforementioned tax regimes, implying the adoption of the Presumed Profit regime, as it will be the option that will provide greater tax savings, as shown in Tables 3 and 4.
Table 3. Optimistic Projection: Calculation of Tax by Simples Nacional Annex III
| Approximate Monthly Gross Revenue | BRL213,350.11 |
| Gross Revenue Accumulated in the last 12 months (approximate) | BRL2,560,201.32 |
| Tax rate (band 5) | 21% |
| Deductible Installment (band 5) | BRL125,640.00 |
| Value with application of the Rate (21%) | BRL2,560,201.32×21%=BRL537,642.28 |
| Value deducted from the installment to be deducted | BRL537,642.28-BRL125,640.00=BRL412,002.28 |
| Effective tax rate | BRL412,002.28÷BRL2,560,201.32≅16.09% |
| Monthly National Simple Tax | BRL213,350.11×16.09%=BRL34,333.52 |
| Approximate annual value of the Simples Nacional | BRL34,333.52×12=BRL412,002.28 |
Source: Elaborated by the author
Table 4. Optimistic Projection: Calculation of Taxes by Presumed Profit
| Monthly Billing | BRL213,350.11 |
| Quarterly Revenue | BRL640,050.33 |
| Presumed Calculation Basis (32%) | BRL204,816.11 |
| Value with the application of the Income Tax rate (15%) on quarterly revenue | BRL30,722.42 |
| Value with application of the surcharge for revenue exceeding R$ 60,000.00 in the quarter (10%) | BRL14,481.61 |
| Total Income Tax | BRL45,204.03 |
| Value with application of the CSLL rate (9%) on quarterly revenue | BRL18,433.45 |
| Total IR and CSLL quarterly | BRL63,637.48 |
| Total annual Income Tax and Social Contribution on Net Income | BRL254,549.90 |
| Value with application of the PIS rate (0.65%) on the monthly revenue | BRL1,386.78 |
| Value with application of the COFINS rate (3%) on the monthly revenue | BRL6,400.50 |
| Total monthly PIS/COFINS | BRL7,787.28 |
| Total PIS/COFINS annual | BRL93,447.35 |
| Value with the application of the ISS rate (2.5%) on monthly revenue | BRL5,333.75 |
| Total annual ISS | BRL64,005.03 |
| Total annual taxes due | BRL412,002.28 |
Source: Elaborated by the author
Even though unpredictable events occur, such as the coronavirus pandemic, it is undeniable to know in advance possible futures that competitively favor the company, promoting the preparation of strategies, risk management, and organization to deal with the uncertainties caused by changes[10].
Therefore, considering the current economic-financial landscape of the analyzed company, Simples Nacional is the regime that implies the greatest tax savings. This is because, in addition to lower rates, the entity is not entitled to the credit regime. It is worth noting that upon acquisition of the main asset object of intermediation by the company, an ICMS rate of 12% is levied, on which the company cannot claim credit, as it is not a contributor to this tax.
In the same sense, the company does not credit amounts arising from PIS/COFINS, so there is no reduction in the payment of these contributions or compensations, but they are elements that strongly impact the constitution of the corporate tax burden.
Furthermore, although it has been glimpsed that the Simples Nacional regime is the one that best meets the premises of tax planning for this corporation, thus providing greater tax savings and alignment with current business objectives, it is essential that such analyses be periodically reviewed, as they are results that are directly related to the company’s performance, its field of activity, and legislative changes.
1The reported Annex III refers to rates and sharing of the Simples Nacional – Income from leasing of movable assets and provision of services not related in paragraph 5-C of article 18 of this Complementary Law.
References
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[5] Brasil. Decreto nº 9.580, de 22 de novembro de 2018. Regulamenta a tributação, a fiscalização, a arrecadação e a administração do Imposto sobre a Renda e Proventos de Qualquer Natureza. 2018. Disponível em: <http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2015-2018/2018/decreto/D9580.htm>.
[6] Brasil. Lei complementar nº 123, de 14 de dezembro de 2006. Institui o Estatuto Nacional da Microempresa e da Empresa de Pequeno Porte. 2006. Disponível em: <http://www.planalto.gov.br /ccivil_03/leis/lcp/lcp123.htm>.
[7] Oliveira Neto A.M.; Castro F.A.V.; Sousa Filho R.C.; Souza Junior A.A.L. Gestão e Planejamento de Tributos. 2ed. 2011. Editora FGV, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
[8] Fischmann A.; Almeida M.I.R. Planejamento estratégico na prática. 1995. Atlas, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
[9] Borges H.B. Gerência de impostos: IPI, ICMS e ISS. 3ed. 2000. Atlas, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
[10] Silva A.T.B.; Spers R.G.; Wright J.T.C. A elaboração de cenários na gestão estratégica das organizações: um estudo bibliográfico. RCA, 2012; 12(32): 21-34. <https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8077.2012v14n32p21>.
Como citar
Souza D.C.; Miranda R.A.M. Planejamento tributário de empresa de prestação de serviços para construção civil no município de Curitiba. Revista E&S. 2022; 3: e20220025.
Sobre os autores
Dayane Campos Souza, Advogada tributarista e Especialista em Gestão Tributária, Curitiba, PR, Brasil.
Raissa Alvares De Matos Miranda, Doutora em Ciências (Administração), Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.
Editorado por: Edson Pereira da Mota
Link para download: https://cms.revistaes.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/28.pdf