Pedro Rezek Andery Altran
Lawyer at Marcos Martins Advogados
The Federal Supreme Court ( STF ) has ruled that it is unconstitutional for social security contributions to be levied on maternity pay.
Justice Luís Roberto Barroso’s opinion prevailed: since maternity pay is paid by the social security system and not by the employer, it is a social security benefit and not a salary.
The basis for calculating social security contributions is the payroll, and as soon as the employer is not responsible for paying maternity pay, it cannot be considered remuneration, as it does not derive from a consideration for the work activity.
This understanding has a direct impact on the amount of social security contributions owed by companies, making it possible to increase their cash flow.
There are also other amounts that can be challenged, with the aim of reducing the final amount of the social security contribution.
Marcos Martins Advogados makes its tax team available to answer any questions on the subject.
