Brasilia – DF: Caiado defends action by states to avoid losses with tax reform regulations

The governor Ronaldo Caiado defended this Tuesday (23/04), in Brasília DF, the mobilization of governors, mainly with the Senate, to avoid greater losses with the regulation of tax reform. Among the shared concerns are the possibility of double taxes and excessive concentration of power by the federal government. “We are the tax generators, it is not up to us to receive a dish made by the Union”, defended Caiado.

The position was given during the Assembly of Governors of the Brasil Central Consortium with the participation of the National Committee of Secretaries of Finance, Finance, Revenue, Taxation or Economy of the States and the Federal District (Consefaz). Representatives from Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Tocantins, Rondônia, Maranhão and DF participated in the meeting, including governors, vice-governors and Economy secretaries.

Caiado, who chairs the consortium, defended not a confrontation of proposals, but the alignment of demands from Brazilian states as a way to mitigate economic losses to federated entities. “I believe that building consensus is the only way”, he pointed out.

Discussed around 30 years ago in Brazil, the tax reform was approved by Congress and promulgated at the end of last year. Since then, the governor of Goiás has been the protagonist of discussions between the states and the Union on how to put it into practice. The texts dealing with the regulations, prepared by the Ministry of Finance, must be presented to the Chamber of Deputies this Wednesday (04/24).

With extensive experience in Parliament, Caiado believes that dialogue between states must go through the Senate. “The only place where we have some power to pressure is the Senate. We have no other element, there is no other figure that has the representation of the states”, he assessed when proposing a specific session for the regulation of the reform to be dealt with.

The meeting of governors also included the presentation prepared by Consefaz, highlighting the results and negotiations that culminated in drafts of bills regulating tax reform, such as Constitutional Amendment nº 132/2023.

Amendment to the Constitution

Some of the main topics addressed by the tax reform are the creation of the Value Added Tax (VAT); a national basic food basket; and the Selective Tax, a new tax that will tax products that are harmful to health or the environment. It also provides for taxation of income and assets, some exemptions and the remuneration of auditors.