Contribuição sindical obrigatória urbana patronal

Abstract

The mandatory union dues is provided in Articles from 578 to 610 of CLT. This contribution has tax origin and it is compulsorily collected by employers every year, in January. The Article 8th, interpolated proposition IV, of the Constitution of the Republic of 1988 prescribes the annual collection of taxes from every person that participates in a specific economic or professional category, even liberal professional, whether or not associated with the union. The juridical nature of this contribution has always been subject of doctrinal and jurisprudencial controversy. The core of this controversy is the legal nature of union dues, considering that from constitutional discipline it was formed three doctrinaire lines, and the majority doctrine, represented by the case law of Superior Courts patrioctic, attributed legal tax nature to union dues, understood as a contribution of economic and professional category. With the effective date of Federal Constitution of 1988, it was discussed a lot about union dues, once this compulsory contribution in benefit of a specific union would be against the liberty of affiliation and against taxpayer's free choice of a union that will represent him, what is a violation of the fundamental right of union's freedom choice. However, the Constitution kept the trade union registration, the unity and the compulsory union dues, restricting therefore the effectiveness of the principle of freedom association. Some companies, on the ground that they don't have employees, plead exemption from the patronal union dues, stating they are not bound by the employer concept, in accordance with art. 2 of CLT. But it is possible understand that the reason is given for those who argue about the tax exemption of union dues for companies without employees is not granted once the "caput" of article 176 of CTN determined that the tax exemption occurs exclusively by law, which specify conditions and requirements.