Haddad criticizes approval of aid to city halls without consulting the ministry

Minister Fernando Haddad, of Finance, criticized this Wednesday (30) the approval of payroll exemption with a measure that reduces the social security contribution paid by municipalities on the salaries of civil servants. The proposal was a claim by mayors who asked the government for help to equalize public accounts – 51% of municipalities are in the red.

Haddad classified the discussion as “cluttered” without presenting how the compensation for the loss of revenue will be, at a time when the government is looking for resources to zero the fiscal deficit next year. Minister Simone Tebet, of Planning, said that the 2024 Budget still needs R$ 168 billion to close accounts in balance between revenues and expenses.

According to the minister, the ministry is open to discussing relief measures for city halls, but that was not approached by managers. According to the National Confederation of Municipalities (CNM), the impact of the approval of the proposal by the Deputies will generate an impact of R$ 7.2 billion for the government – ​​R$ 9.4 billion according to estimates by the Treasury.

“I think the process is a little messed up. You will create a new tax waiver, without ballast, without replacement. How will the Social Security deficit look? So it’s a question of reasonableness. I’m not asking for anything unreasonable. And I’m making myself available too”, said Haddad.

In a manifesto published on Wednesday (30), the CNM stated that city halls have reached a level where “there are no more conditions for governance”. The entity carried out a mobilization that led municipal managers from 16 states to carry out a kind of strike throughout the day due to the drop in transfers from the Municipal Participation Fund (FPM).

“The future is pessimistic. Every day, Brasilia creates new attributions without the source for funding”, said Paulo Ziulkoski, president of the entity.

CARF Approval

Despite the defeat on payroll exemptions for 17 sectors of the economy by the end of 2027, Haddad celebrated the approval in the Senate of the bill that reduces litigation and gives back to the Treasury the power to tie-break tax judgments in the Administrative Council of Appeals Taxes (Carf).

The minister stated that there is around R$ 1 trillion in stock at CARF to be judged, and that the expectation is to collect more than R$ 50 billion in the collection of taxes related to judgments next year.

“What happened today is very important for the Treasury, in a way, to restore to the Federal Revenue Service the power that the entire Federal Revenue Service in the world has to exercise its function, which is to guarantee the tax base of the Brazilian State. It is a kind of republicanization of the Federal Revenue Service, which had been privatized, with known consequences”, he said, thanking Congress. According to him, there were eight months of talks and “a very difficult job of convincing”.

The Senate accepted some changes in the text that were suggested in the Chamber of Deputies, such as the exclusion of the collection of fines on the debts of taxpayers who lose judgments due to the pro-government tie-breaking vote.

The minimum value of 60 minimum wages was also maintained in the proposal in the dispute that defines the competence of Carf to judge an administrative process, and it serves as the value from which the taxpayer can appeal to the council. The proposal also determines that if the taxpayer does not accept the payment terms, there will be registration of outstanding credits within 90 days – the current deadline is 30.

The text now goes to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) for sanction.