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Benjamin Franklin's famous quote "in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes" is as applicable in Brazil as any other country on the planet. Below is a listing of the major federal, state and local (municipal or city) taxes paid by most Brazilians. It does not include all taxes nor taxes paid only by companies and employers but does include those that are faced by most individual Brazilian residents.

While the rate usually changes from year to year, for the calendar year 2005, Brazilians earning less than R$ 13,968.00 are exempt from paying any income tax whatsoever but must provide proof of income. The Distrito Federal (Federal District) of Brasília — with a per capita income of R$ 15,725.00 — is the only single state or location in all of Brazil with a per capita income above this R$ 13,968.00 cap. The average per capita income in 2004 for all of Brazil was R$ 8,100.00 but, in many states, the per capita income was far lower.

For Brazilians earning more than R$ 13,968.00, there is a two tier income tax rate. For those earning between R$13,968.01 and R$ 27,912.00 for the calendar year 2005, the rate is 15% before the standard deduction of R$ 2,095.20. For those earning over R$ 27,912.00, the rate is 27.5% before the standard deduction of R$ 5,584.20. There are also separate deductions for each dependent.

Expenses for doctors, dentists, hospitals, medical insurance and contributions to public and private retirement plans are deductible. Medical laboratory tests, the cost of prescription medications and many other things that may be deductible in the US and elsewhere are not deductible in Brazil. Likewise, Brazil allows deductions for some things that are not allowed in the US and elsewhere.

Income tax returns are required to be filed by April 30th and the Receita Federal (the Brazilian equivalent of the IRS in the United States) provides a free, downloadable computer program that allows Brazilians to calculate their income tax, fill in the tax forms, submit their return via the Internet, make a computer backup file and print a hard copy. For more information, visit the the Receita Federal web site at: http://www.receita.fazenda.gov.br [in Portuguese].

CPMF— Contribuição Provisória Sobre Movimentação ou Transmissão de Valores e de Créditos e Direitos de Natureza Financeira (Temporary Contribution on the Movement of Values or Transmission of Credits and Rights of a Financial Nature)
With very few exceptions, every financial transaction accomplished at any Brazilian bank—including deposits, withdrawals, checks, transfers, etc.—is subject to this federal 0.038% CPMF tax.

ICMS — Impostos Sobre Circulação de Mercadorias e Prestação de Serviços (Taxes on Goods and Services)
While there is no sales tax per se in Brazil, every manufacturer, distributor, retailer or provider of almost every type of merchandise or service pays the state ICMS and passes the cost along to the consumer. While there are some exemptions (mainly pertaining to goods bound for exportation, raw minerals and interstate transmission of electricity and fuels), the only exemption that really impacts consumers is an exemption on newspapers, magazines and books.

Because this tax is largely a "hidden" tax—in that it is not noted on any receipt nor directly on the price of the goods—a traveling tax fair recently toured numerous cities in Brazil to demonstrate how much the ICMS is actually costing Brazilian consumers. The following chart provides a partial listing of their findings for various items and services together with an average percentage of their total cost directly attributable to the ICMS:
 

IPTU — Imposto Sobre Propriedade Territorial Urbana  (Tax on Urban Property)
Yearly property tax on houses, condominiums, apartments, etc., based upon the value of the property. The exact rate is variable depending upon the individual municipality or city.