Tax and Legal News – September 2026

Returns

The end of summer vacation is usually a time of returns. We return from our vacations, children return to their classrooms, lawmakers return to the Chamber of Deputies, and we turn our attention to what has changed over the summer and what awaits us in the fall. And what will happen next?

Following its approval by the Chamber of Deputies in July, the EET (revised electronic sales recording system) 2.0 amendment package is heading to the Senate, and with it, kindergarten tuition credit, student credit and still wine are making a comeback. And, of course, the EET itself. Past trends are reappearing on the catwalk—only this time in a modernized version, and still with the open question of what their impact on the public finances will be.

The past two years have shown that the main focus of tax and financial legislation is no longer the question of whether taxes will be higher or lower. Instead, there is much greater focus on what data will need to be collected, reported, shared and archived. Just look at ESG, Pillar 2 or equal pay regulations. From a corporate perspective, this means new processes, new systems and new competencies.

Tax and finance departments are thus gradually shifting from the actual calculation of taxes to working with data, technologies and the implementation of regulatory requirements. Terms such as “data quality,” “single source of truth,” “real-time tax reporting” and “human-in-the-loop” are entering our everyday vocabulary. And while we may have once thought that digitization meant mainly more convenient work, we now know that, in the beginning, it primarily involves hard work on data consolidation, setting up controls and integrating systems. And that it’s not a six-month project.

And if anyone was hoping this was just a temporary blip, they need only look at the schedule for the coming years. In addition to the accounting and tax recodification, e-invoicing is a hot topic right now. Discussions on the recodification were suspended in late spring, and as for e-invoicing, a working group is currently being considered. Meanwhile, neighboring countries are showing that digital reporting is no longer in the distant future, but a current issue with specific deadlines and real-world impacts on the day-to-day operations of businesses.

As Indian summer draws to a close, negotiations on next year’s state budget are wrapping up. The size of the deficit is a hot topic; it’s possible it will approach 400 billion. In addition to mandatory spending, defense funding and the energy transition are major issues for the coming decade. And in addition to the investments required by the accounting and tax reforms for businesses, it will also be necessary to address the long-standing backlog in the digitization of public administration. It is difficult to demand ever more data from companies if the government cannot keep pace with its processing and utilization.

Who will pay for all this?

Local and Senate elections are coming up in October. During an election cycle, it’s usually politically easier to talk about supporting growth than about raising taxes. The good news is that the number of young entrepreneurs has more than doubled over the past ten years. So there’s no shortage of interest in entrepreneurship. Innovation is one of the government’s stated priorities, so perhaps the startup bill currently being drafted will create better conditions for the creation and growth of new companies, including a stronger legal framework, greater flexibility and increased credibility. In the long term, higher public revenues are primarily the result of a thriving economy.

If only competitiveness and growth could keep pace with the technological advances in artificial intelligence that we are currently witnessing. And if only the improvements—which have been rather slow so far—could turn into a breakthrough, followed by exponential growth and a curve resembling the coveted hockey stick shape. And if only tax legislation—among other things—could help make that happen.

So, back to class!