Brazil Agency – The governors of Goiás, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and Rio de Janeiro met this Wednesday (24th), in Brasília, with the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, to present a series of proposals that make the rules of the Regime more flexible. of Fiscal Recovery (RRF). The argument is that revenue losses over the past year have frustrated the ability of states to honor commitments to the Union.
Among the requests is the extension from 9 to 15 years of the maximum period of permanence in the program and a reduction in the debt correction index, among other adjustments. The states also ask for the possibility of expanding the space on their own revenues for the contracting of credit operations to be used in the payment of liabilities, such as precatorios (government debts definitively recognized by the Justice), in addition to carrying out investments in areas such as infrastructure, for example.
The four units of the Federation have a high debt with the federal government, built up over decades. Of these states, Goiás, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul already have their recovery plans in place, while Minas Gerais had its application for membership approved, but is still awaiting approval of the recovery plan by the Union.
“Last year, the Union, through the laws [complementares] 192 and 194, took a substantial part of our collection. States lost billions of reais. Not only the billions of reais in financial income, but also our fiscal results were compromised. We are discussing alternatives to get around this”, explained the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite.
CONTINUE AFTER RECOMMENDATIONS
In June 2022, during the Jair Bolsonaro government, complementary laws 192 and 194 imposed a ceiling of 17% or 18% (depending on the state) for the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS) on fuel, energy, telecommunications and public transport. Previously, it had stated that it charged more than 30% of ICMS on fuel. ICMS is a state tax and the reduction in the maximum rates had a strong impact on the states’ cash flow.
During the processing of the laws, the parliamentarians inserted an article obliging the Union to compensate the ICMS collection losses, but the government at the time vetoed the device, which was later overturned by Congress, forcing the government to pay some compensation to the federal entities. . In March of this year, the Union and the states finally closed the agreement for the compensation of losses, in the amount of R$ 26.9 billion, to be paid by 2026.
“We were victimized by decisions that changed the tax collection structure of the states. In Goiás, fuels, energy and communications account for 39% of the state’s collection”, said the governor of Goiás, Ronaldo Caiado.
“No one is asking for forgiveness or any kind of non-payment condition. It is being able to adjust so that the states are not left with a tourniquet that makes it impossible to fulfill their missions with their populations”, added Leite.
indexer
Another request for change is in relation to the correction value of the states’ debts with the Union, currently made by the Extended Consumer Price Index (IPCA) + 4% per year or by the Selic Rate, which is 13.75% per year, whichever is greater.
‘That’s also a garrote in the states. It’s in the load that we put for him [Haddad] the reduction of this index, so that it is linked to GDP [Produto Interno Bruto]”, said the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro. According to him, the current index makes the debt virtually unpayable. “Our debt today, in Rio de Janeiro, for example, at the same time it increased by 2,000%, ICMS only grew by 700%. So, the debt becomes unpayable every year, ”he reported.
According to the governors, the requests were well received by the Minister of Finance and will now be analyzed by the technical area of the federal government. “We were very well attended, Minister Haddad is sensitive to our requests”, highlighted the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema.
