The government’s leader in the Senate, Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ), said this Thursday (23) that the government’s economic team is evaluating the possibility of not proceeding with the proposal of full compensation to states and municipalities that zero the tax rates. VAT on diesel.
According to him, although the Ministry of Economy considers it the best proposal, the approximately R$30 billion that would initially be used to reimburse the states should finance the expansion of social programs such as Auxílio Brasil, from R$400 to R$600, and to increase the value of the Auxílio-Gás, currently R$ 53, because of the resistance on the part of governors to the measure. The idea, according to the leader, is to create a voucher worth R$1,000 to compensate truck drivers.
“There is a fear that the governors, due to the last gestures, do not have the same sensitivity to the population. And therefore, as it is an authorizing PEC for those who set the ICMS on diesel to zero, it is important that it be effective. And, if there is this fear, there are other mechanisms that are being, on the initiative of several senators, evaluated, and there is a convergence to reach the consumer at the end”, he explained.
When asked if the granting of benefits could not result in problems with the electoral legislation, Portinho evaluated that no. According to him, two programs already exist and would only be expanded. The voucher would have support in the “moment of international emergency”.
The matter was discussed in a virtual meeting, this morning, between the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), and leaders of the base and of the opposition. According to the original proposal, presented by Portinho in early June, a transfer from the Union to the states and the Federal District was foreseen in the amount of up to R$ 29.6 billion, and if the loss of collection exceeded this amount, there would be no compensation for the difference. . The exemption would not be mandatory, and the states would be free to join or not.
Based on the accounts that will be made by the Ministry of Economy, the proposal’s rapporteur, Senator Fernando Bezerra (MDB-PE), should present a report to be put to a vote as early as next week. The concern is that the averages do not exceed the spending ceiling.
