Commission approves IPTU exemption for religious temples rented in Brazil

* Luís Alberto Alves

Ordinary meeting for discussion and voting of the draftsman's opinion to amendments to the substitute and to the attached drafts.

A special committee of the House approved on Wednesday (9) the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) 200/16, which provides for exemption from the Tax on Urban Property and Territorial Property (IPTU) for temples of any religious cult, Who are only renters of the property.

The proposal is authored by Senator Marcelo Crivella (PRB-RJ), elected mayor of Rio de Janeiro, and has already been approved by the Senate. Now it will be sent to the House Plenary, where it will have to be submitted to two votes. In order to be approved, it will need the favorable votes of three fifths of the deputies in each round, that is, 308 votes.

The rapporteur of the proposal, Deputy Jorge Tadeu Mudalen (DEM-SP), recalled that, currently, the understanding of the Federal Supreme Court is that the tax immunity of temples in relation to IPTU is restricted to properties owned by religious entities.

"It is beyond the scope of immunity that the religious entity is a renter of property owned by a third party," he said, adding that such entities are charitable by definition. "If these entities have resources in abundance, it is desirable that they be used for social assistance or religious services," he said. The deputy also stated that taxation, although necessary for the maintenance of the State, is a restriction on the enjoyment of property and freedom of the citizen.
* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor