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10 / 12 / 2021

TAX ON SEVICES (ISS) INCREASES IN 2022 FOR AUTONOMOUS PROFESSIONALS IN SÃO PAULO

The city of São Paulo published Law No. 17.719/2021, which altered the municipal tax legislation, increasing the calculation basis of the Tax on Services (ISS), for autonomous taxpayers.

 

The rule changes for the special regime applicable to a determined type of legal entity, also known as “sociedades uniprofissionais”. Such enterprises must have all of their partners qualified to exercise an intellectual profession, they must render services in a personal way, on behalf of the company, assuming personal responsibility for the services, such as the legal entities incorporated by: lawyers, doctors, accountants, architects, and economists, for example. For these companies, ISS is calculated until now in a special regime of a fixed calculation basis, multiplied by the number of professionals in the company. The calculation basis for paying the tax is R$ 1,995.26 per professional, regardless of the number of professionals in the company or the gross revenue amount, and the rate may vary from 2% or 5%, depending on the field of activity.

 

As of February 28, 2022, the calculation basis will vary according to the number of professionals in the company. In the first range determined by the law, the calculation basis will be R$1,995.26 for companies with up to five partners. In the second range, the amount rises to R$5,000 for firms with between six and ten professionals, and these levels arise until it reaches R$60,000 for firms with more than one hundred professionals.

 

Law firms are already organizing themselves to adopt collective judicial measures against the change. There are discussions that the law is violating the constitutional principles of reasonableness, proportionality and equality. The ISS increase, from one year to another, may exceed 1,000% in some cases. It is argued that such increase is even more overwhelming in a complicated moment such as the present crisis caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.