The Impairment Test and its Tax Implications

Abstract

The present paper has as scope the study of the figure of the impairment test, as well as its effects in the tax area, including eventual controversial situations. The purpose of this paper is to verify if all possible tax implications of the impairment are properly regulated.
In this scenario, two situations that may generate controversies were identified, namely: (i) the amount of the goodwill that will be amortized in case of merger; and (ii) the allowance to calculate tax credits the contribution to the social integration program (“PIS”) and the contribution to social security financing (“COFINS”) on fixed assets, in the event of a reduction of the value of the asset due to the impairment test, the former being expressly regulated by legislation and the latter not.