PIM businesspeople take a stand in favor of ZFM’s competitiveness with the Tax Reform

Manaus (AM) — Businesspeople from the Manaus industrial hub (PIM) released a joint position on Tax Reform. The document was signed by the Industry Center of the State of Amazonas (Cieam) and the Brazilian Association of Manufacturers of Motorcycles, Mopeds, Mopeds, Bicycles and Similar (Abraciclo), with the provisions of Constitutional Amendment 132/2023 to be regulated as its agenda, such as the tax regime of the Manaus Free Trade Zone (ZFM) in the face of the new IBS and CBS taxes, the treatment given to the Industrialized Product Tax (IPI) and the new fund created by the Constitutional Amendment for sustainability and economic diversification of Amazonas.

“The document reinforces the importance of introducing the new dual VAT (Value Added Tax) in consumption taxation, in line with best international practices, which should take the country to another level of competitiveness, without ignoring national particularities and the need to move forward in reducing regional inequalities”,

maintains J. Portela, Member of the Cieam Deliberative Council and tax lawyer.

“The idea is to ensure that ZFM’s competitive differential is guaranteed in the calculation system for new taxes, CBS (Contribution on Goods and Services) and IBS (Tax on Goods and Services), in a manner equivalent to the differentiated taxation currently existing in taxes on be extinguished, such as ICMS (Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Services), PIS (Social Integration Program) and COFINS (Contribution to the Financing of Social Security), through the instruments provided for in the Constitutional Amendment”, continues Portela.

In addition to the transfer of the competitive differential present in the taxes to be extinguished to the new dual VAT, in relation to the IPI, the exception provided for incentivized products manufactured in the ZFM on the occasion of the reduction of the rates of this tax to zero was fundamental. However, it is essential that this exception covers all incentivized products produced at ZFM, in addition to enabling the entry of new products, given the natural technological transformation and consequent acceleration of the life cycle of industrialized products.

Amazon bench

Addressed to the Governor of Amazonas, Wilson Miranda Lima, the Amazonas parliamentary bench, the Superintendent of Suframa, Bosco Saraiva, and the Extraordinary Secretary of Tax Reform, Bernard Appy, the document highlights the approval of the Tax Reform as an important step towards promoting productivity growth and competitiveness gains in the Brazilian economy, sustaining economic growth and creating jobs.

The new system also reflects the needs and potential of the development model for the Amazon and the country, in addition to aligning with the most important principles of the reform of the national tax system, such as simplicity, transparency, full non-cumulativeness and tax relief on investments and exports.

Marcos Bento, president of Abraciclo, reaffirms the sector’s and the two-wheel industry’s commitment to the Manaus Free Trade Zone.

“The objective of this material is to contribute and provide subsidies for the maintenance of the competitive advantages of the Manaus Free Zone provided for in the constitutional text, and which should now be part of the debates on complementary laws. In this way, we will guarantee the commitment to continue promoting investments and the consequent socioeconomic and sustainable development of the Amazon region”,

states.

Sustainability and Diversification Fund

Luiz Augusto Rocha, president of the Superior Council of Cieam, highlights the value of the Constitutional Amendment for the Amazon and for Brazil’s bioeconomy.

“Maintaining ZFM’s competitiveness in complementary legislation, as established by Constitutional Amendment 132/2023, is an opportunity to ensure that the Manaus Industrial Pole continues to be an engine of economic development for the region, responsible for generating approximately 500 thousand direct, indirect and induced jobs, contributing to the preservation of the Brazilian Amazon for the world”, emphasizes Rocha.

The entities’ document highlights that the PIM industrial sector also enthusiastically welcomed the creation of the new Amazonas Sustainability and Economic Diversification Fund, with the purpose of stimulating the development and diversification of economic activities in the state. For Rocha, this is the time to join the efforts of all organized civil society to build development strategies for the Amazon. “We are optimistic about the paths that the Tax Reform has taken and we count on businesspeople and workers from the Manaus Free Trade Zone, federal, state and municipal governments, the National Congress, experts, academics and society in general, in drafting the text of the Complementary Law, that meets the will of the legislator reflected in Constitutional Amendment 132/2023”, highlights Luiz Augusto.

According to the president of the Cieam Council, it is also necessary to promote investments in infrastructure and logistics appropriate to the region, such as river marking, connectivity through the interior of the Amazon, generating renewable energy sources and developing training and qualification programs for workers. , among other points.

“The Sustainability and Economic Diversification Fund needs to be regulated with this mission that is so important for our sustainable socioeconomic development, always focusing on keeping the forest standing”, concludes the president of the Cieam Superior Council.

About CIEAM

The Industry Center of the State of Amazonas is a business entity with legal personality, linked to the industrial sector, whose objective is to act in a technical and political manner in defense of its members and the principles of the economy based on the ZFM.

Implemented by the federal government in 1967, to provide an economic base in Amazonas and promote better productive and social integration between all regions of Brazil, the Manaus Free Trade Zone is a successful regional development model that returns more than half of of the wealth it produces. Currently, there are 600 companies installed in the Manaus Industrial Pole (PIM), which generate more than 500 thousand jobs, direct and indirect, and guarantee the preservation of 97% of the forest cover in Amazonas. In 2022, it handled more than 177 billion, an increase of 12% compared to the previous year.

Abraciclo

With 47 years of history and 14 associates, Abraciclo represents manufacturers of two-wheeled vehicles in the country, with its main mission being the coordination, development and defense of the sector’s competitiveness through actions based on three pillars: Industrial Policy, Road Safety and Technician.

National motorcycle manufacturing, almost entirely concentrated in PIM, is among the seven largest in the world. In the bicycle segment, with the main factories also installed in PIM, Brazil is in fourth position among the main world producers. In total, manufacturers in the Two-Wheel Sector generate around 16,800 direct jobs in Manaus.

*With information from consultancy

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