AM senators are divided between optimism and caution with tax reform

Brasilia DF) – The Chamber of Deputies approved in the first round, on Thursday night (6), the basic text of the Tax Reform (PEC 45/19), by 382 votes to 118, with three abstentions, after more than ten hours of session . After approval in the House in both rounds, the forecast is that the Federal Senate will analyze the matter in early August. The senator of Amazonas Plínio Valério (PL), in a statement to Em Tempo, claimed that they will have more time to analyze the approved proposal and then resume voting.

“My priority is to make sure that our Free Zone is not in danger. We need to know if the Chamber did not go up ‘jabutis in the tree’”

he said.

In the assessment of Senator Omar Aziz (PSD-AM), the measure is a “great victory for the State of Amazonas”. The leader of the Amazon bench in the National Congress, in a statement, said that legal security has returned to businessmen who want to invest in the Free Zone. He included in the perspective, the new contributions to the fund that must be created to diversify the economic matrix of the State and compensate the possible losses of collection.

With the reform, the five current taxes on consumption will be extinguished: Tax on Industrialized Products (IPI), Social Integration Program (PIS), Contribution for Social Security Financing (Cofins), Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS ) and Services Tax (ISS). In their place, according to the proposal, two value-added taxes (IVAs) will be created: the Tax on Goods and Services (IBS), replacing ICMS and ISS, and the Contribution on Goods and Services (CBS). The PEC also transforms the Tax on Industrialized Products (IPI) into a selective tax.

The senator declared that the competitiveness of the Free Zone is not threatened since Amazonas must not pay the unified tax. Regarding the losses in ICMS collection, which with the change in the collection of the tax in the place of origin for the destination of the product, Omar highlights the creation of the Fund for Compensation and Economic Diversification of Amazonas as a response to this concern.

“This represents around 45% of the ICMS collected by the State at origin, while commerce today accounts for more than 50% of the collection. It’s not just Amazonas that loses, and this fund will make up for those losses, but the discussion we’re having now is whether (the fund’s collection) will only be based on the IPCA (National Index of Prices to the Extended Consumer), because our economy in the State rises annually above inflation”

he stated.

Isolation

Of the eight parliamentarians that make up the Amazon bench, only federal deputy Captain Alberto Neto (PL) voted against the approved basic text

“My commitment is to the people of Amazonas and as their representative it is my duty to choose what is best for our state. For this reason, when evaluating the latest version of the Tax Reform text, it became clear that it does not offer the necessary legal certainty for approval. Despite contemplating the proposal of the Amazonas caucus and including the creation of the State Compensation, Sustainability and Economic Diversification Fund, it does not have consistency or support that effectively ensures compliance with these measures for the benefit of the Amazonian economy”

declared the deputy who isolated himself in the decision by voting against it.

Alberto Neto completed the justification stating that Congress does not have enough time to analyze the changes inserted in the reform, verify the calculations and discuss the best alternative for the implementation of a new taxation model. “This vulnerability could put the interests of Amazonas at risk and I cannot allow that. I reaffirm that the defense of the Free Zone is my priority. We need to maintain the competitiveness of this economic matrix that generates jobs and income for our people. This is my commitment, the preservation of the ZFM, the sustainable development of the state and the well-being of the people of Amazonas”he stated.

Settings

In his social networks, deputy Amom Mandel (Citizenship), despite having voted in favor of the basic text, declared that the approved reform is not perfect, nor was it properly debated, but that the most important thing was the preservation of the Free Zone . Mandel claimed that due to the demands of the Amazonian bench having been met by the deputy rapporteur Aguinaldo Ribeiro (PP-PB), he would vote in favor of the basic text.

“The reform approved today is not perfect (far from it) nor was it properly debated in this legislature, despite the fact that the topic itself is already old. Despite these facts, I hope it will be positive. The most important thing for us was the preservation of the Free Zone. It is also worth remembering that the effects of the reform will not be immediate. There are still decades to go until the end of the transition, and other quotes may still change the tax system before the end of this transition.”

The final version of the report adjusted the articles related to the Manaus Free Trade Zone and the Export Processing Zones (ZPE) to clarify the different treatment and the advantage of companies located in these areas. Which were the main points claimed by Amazonas, thus maintaining the competitiveness of the industries of the Industrial Pole of Manaus until 2073, which guarantees legal security to attract new investments and, as compensation for the change in the calculation of taxes from the destination to origin, a special fund for the state of Amazonas.

Federal deputy Saullo Vianna (União-AM), in a press conference on Thursday (6), accompanied by deputies Sidney Leite (PSD) and Adail Filho (Republicans), claimed that the meeting with the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, when members of the Amazonas bench in Congress, Governor Wilson Lima, in addition to economists, was essential for the preservation of the ZFM in the text of the Tax Reform.

“The state of Amazonas is, by far, the one that loses the most with this measure, because we are a producing state, which exports 90% of what it produces to the rest of the country and a small population. The idea of ​​creating a specific fund for our state was endorsed by President Lula and Minister Haddad to compensate for revenue losses”

he stated.

The final text then informs that from 2027, all products industrialized in the Manaus Free Trade Zone (ZFM), will still have a zero rate until 2033, when it will be extinguished and replaced by the excise tax.

The text also provides for the creation, by complementary law, of the Compensation, Sustainability and Economic Diversification Fund of the State of Amazonas, which has the objective of promoting new productive activities aimed at the state’s vocations, such as the sustainable exploitation of potassium, the carbon market and business with forest products.

Until 2078, companies in the region of the Industrial Pole of Manaus (PIM) will be able to have the support of mechanisms to maintain the competitive advantage assured to the region at the levels established by the legislation of the taxes extinguished by the reform.

The Governor of Amazonas, Wilson Lima, thanked the federal deputies who approved the basic text with the inclusion of the proposals claimed by the bench.

“I want to thank the rapporteur, Deputy Aguinaldo Ribeiro, the Federal Government, the Amazonas bench and everyone who understands that this is the most successful model of social and economic development and protection of the forest. We will continue to fight for our people.”

he declared.

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