The tax reform will have a “smooth” transition rule of 20 years, said, this Tuesday (28), the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad. In a speech at the March in Defense of Municipalities, he stated that this deadline will prevent municipalities from losing resources.
Haddad defended the urgency of approving the tax reform, citing the high volume of lawsuits surrounding tax disputes in the country. “[Existe uma] struggle to pay or not to pay tax. Sometimes people don’t even know what they should do”, declared the minister during the event, organized by the National Confederation of Municipalities (CNM).
The minister asked municipalities for “a little detachment”. According to him, the union to approve the tax reform is necessary to change the system and encourage economic growth. “Here it is not a federative war, between states, municipalities and the Union. We are hearing from the 27 governors that this tax reform is fair, because it puts the citizen above everything else. He has to be at the top of the priorities,” he declared.
Haddad considered the tax reform among “the three or five measures” most important for the country. In addition to the change in the tax system, he cited the reform of the credit system and the new fiscal framework, as the government’s main measures in the economic area.
Tebet
Also present at the event, the Minister of Planning, Simone Tebet, said that mayors should not fear the unification of the Tax on Services (ISS), currently administered by municipalities, with the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS). She repeated Haddad’s argument that the tax reform will not remove resources from municipalities and could result in more revenues, because of the growth of the economy.
“This tax reform is the only silver bullet we have. Although the reform keeps tax revenues equal for the first 20 years, it relieves the industry, makes the industry competitive”, he declared. The minister reiterated that the government intends to create a constitutional fund to compensate for any loss of resources during the transition period.
Reporter
Tax reform rapporteur, Deputy Aguinaldo Ribeiro (PP-PB), said that the President of the Chamber, Arthur Lira, and of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, are committed to the issue. According to him, both are willing to put the issue to a vote later this year. Ribeiro also assured that the discussions take municipalities into account.
“We have the challenge of not looking at each one for themselves, but of looking at the whole. And with that obligation, we have to understand that life takes place in the municipality. The mayor is a bit of a delegate, a doctor, a psychologist, a bit of everything. We need to have a stronger country from the point of view of its economic growth. We are talking about promoting wealth, generating jobs and income. This will make our economy grow and consolidate the Brazilian State as a strong country”, he said.
