Amendment wants to extend car discounts to bicycles – 06/12/2023 – Panel

An amendment presented by federal deputy Felipe Carreras (PSB-PE) proposes the inclusion of bicycles in the popular car incentive program launched by the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) government.

The text was created by the parliamentarian in partnership with the Bike Alliance, which brings together shopkeepers and companies focused on sustainable transport.

The track record of Fernando Haddad, Minister of Finance, who launched policies to encourage the use of bicycles during his tenure as mayor of São Paulo, is considered a factor that may favor the incorporation of the amendment into the federal government’s program.

In 2014, for example, he said that he considered it important to fight “with the state and federal governments for tax exemption for bicycles” and that he wanted to “launch a new petition with cycle activists, [pedindo] in addition to bicycle lanes, tax exemption for bicycles”.

In 2017, he said he considered the taxation of bicycles “a contradiction” and that there should be a “subsidy for the sale of bicycles”.

Daniel Guth, executive director of Aliança Bike, highlights that the summary of the provisional measure talks about “sponsored discount on the acquisition of sustainable vehicles”.

“So it’s more than obvious and fair that the bicycle, as the most sustainable vehicle that exists, is included”, he adds.

“Still, 70% of the adult population in Brazil does not even own a bicycle. So increasing access to bicycles is an essential policy, especially for lower-income families, who will be able to use bicycles as a tool to access the city and for the health promotion”, concludes Guth.

Carreras says that the bicycle is a means of transport used daily by workers, such as “electricians, doormen, carpenters”. He says he will schedule a meeting with Haddad to discuss the proposal.

“When you look at the concentration of taxes, it is higher on bicycles than on cars. I’m not against lowering the price of cars, but I defend that they should also apply to bicycles. You can’t talk about the future without talking about bike, a sustainable mode”, says the Federal Deputy of the PSB.

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