Containing a wealth of information, it mainly presents of key taxes applicable – whether federal, state or local – along with practical techniques such as methods of calculation, or information on employer costs and Social Security contribution. It provides numerical examples as well as cases of tax optimization, and guidance to select the best Corporate Income Tax regime (Real, Presumido or Simples).

Why Brazilian taxes are among the world’s most tricky? Four main explanations for this:

• The organization is complex. It’s a Federal Republic; outside Brasilia (Federal District), there are 26 Federal States, and inside these States there are thousands of Municipalities. They all have strong powers of taxation.
• As a consequence of this very large number of actors on this topic, there are countless exceptions and many litigations (among other things, because States compete amongst each other to maximize budget income; and so do Municipalities).
• Rules, methods of calculation, and above all rates of taxes are constantly changing. The Brazilian industrial lobby (among its members are many foreign industrial companies with factories on Brazilian soil), the exchange rate of the Brazilian currency against the USD, the growth of the economy, and many other indicators are the reasons of constant changes in taxation.
• The Brazilian government has a protectionist policy. Taxes on importations can be very high; and on top of that, administrative procedures and the calculation of these taxes are exceptionally tricky.

The author, A. Bleuez, qualified Chartered Accountant in the UK and in Brazil, alumnus PricewaterhouseCoopers, is the founding partner of BPC Partners. Based in Brazil and Europe, BPC Partners provides Legal Representation, BPO, EOR, Audit, Due Diligence, Forex, and Consulting services to International Companies doing business in Brazil.