The Senate approved today (13) a Proposal for an Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) that provides for different IPTU rates based on environmental criteria adopted for each property. The so-called Green IPTU considers sustainable measures to apply tax discounts.
The criteria involve reuse of rainwater, reuse of waste water, degree of soil permeability and use of renewable energy in the property. Now, the PEC goes to the Chamber.
The text also provides for the non-collection of the tax for parts of the property with preserved native vegetation. This passage provoked divergence among the senators, but was maintained by the rapporteur, Eliziane Gama (Cidadania-MA). It, however, included a device that provides for a period of 180 days to give municipalities time to adapt to the change.
Another criterion adopted in the PEC, incorporated by the rapporteur into the text, is the adoption of the “green roof”. The buildings that have a vegetated roof have this name. Instead of shingles, the top of the house is lined with vegetation such as lawns and bushes. This feature reduces the temperature inside the building, retains and captures rainwater, reducing flooding and improving air quality.
As explained by the rapporteur in her opinion, the objective of the proposal “is to establish environmental criteria for the reduction of the IPTU rate, in order to encourage the taxpayer-owners of urban property to adopt behaviors that are ecologically compatible with sustainability”. To pass the House, it will be necessary to approve three-fifths of the total number of deputies in the House, that is, 308 deputies.
water use
The Senate also approved a bill (PL) that provides for the inclusion, in the Water Resources Plans, of the promotion of periodic educational campaigns to encourage the rational use of water. The idea is always to keep in the memory of Brazilians the importance of not wasting this resource, given the episodes of prolonged drought that the country has already faced and may face again. This project also goes to the Chamber.
