Imposto de renda da pessoa física no Brasil: análise da defasagem na atualização da tabela progressiva

Abstract

The Individual Income Tax (IRPF) represents one of the main sources of revenue for the federal government. According to the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service, in 2022, only the Withholding Income Tax (IRRF), which applies to salaries, contributed to 7.72% of the annual collection of the Federal Revenue Secretariat. However, concerning social equity, the income tax table has not undergone corrections in the last eight years (from the tax year 2017, calendar year 2016, until the tax year 2023, calendar year 2022). Adding up the previous years since 1996, there have been only 12 updates in a 21-year period with adjustment rates that do not reflect increases in prices of products and services in the Brazilian market. This situation has a significant impact on the budgets of Brazilian families, compromising their finances. The general objective of the research is to identify the lag in the progressive income tax table related to its update by the IPCA inflation index, from 1996 to 2023. To achieve this goal, a descriptive research with a quantitative approach was conducted, using mainly information obtained from the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service (RFB) and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) websites. This research collected the income tax table values from 1996 and their respective updates, applying the suggested index and recalculating taxpayers' income tax. Thus, it was possible to identify the financial impact resulting from the lack of update of the income tax table for holders of three minimum wages, totaling R$ 7,332.69 paid from 1996 to 2023, which, when adjusted to the present value in 2023, reaches R$ 14,631.33. For declarants with 10 minimum wages, the total amount of R$ 76,160.05 paid over the period, comparing the current table with the updated one, when adjusted to the Present Value until the year 2023, totals R$ 124,379.49. In this context, taxpayers whose income corresponds to 3 minimum wages remain exempt from taxation throughout the period under analysis, while those whose income corresponds to 10 minimum wages would see their tax burden reduced.