Compensation to states will come from Union debts, says ICMS rapporteur’s opinion

Senator Fernando Bezerra Coelho (MDB-PE) suggests that the financial compensation to states that follow the temporary ceiling of 17% for charging ICMS on fuel and electricity be made through debts of entities with the Union, according to the opinion to which CNN policy analyst Thais Arbex had early access.

Bezerra reads his opinion in the Senate this Thursday morning (9). The text kept most of what was approved in the Chamber of Deputies, but brings some changes, which include debt repayment.

“It (compensation) would be made, basically, by deducting the installments referring to debts with the Union of States or the Federal District. States that do not have debts with the Union could not be reimbursed. For those who have them, compensation would be limited to losses until December 31, 2022 that exceed 5% of ICMS collection in relation to 2021.

For states that do not have debts with the Union, the text cites an amendment that will guarantee this compensation in the year 2023, through the appropriation of the Union’s share of revenues from the Financial Compensation for the Exploration of Mineral Resources (CFEM). “In addition, in the current financial year 2022, they will have priority in contracting loans to face present losses”, says the rapporteur.

THE estimated loss to state coffers with the measure is R$ 20.06 billion , according to the opinion. The value corresponds to about half of the initial value calculated by the Consultancy on Budgets, Inspection and Control of the Federal Senate (Conorf), which was between R$ 46.08 billion and R$ 53.5 billion, as it considers the entry into force of the measured only in the second half of the year.

“For 2022, considering approval and sanction of the project until the end of June, the impact will correspond to approximately half of the annualized value, since the first half of the year will remain elapsed. The following table summarizes the cited estimates”.

The project also intends to proportionally compensate the municipalities.

The text also proposes, in agreement with the Union, the reduction to zero of PIS/Pasep and COFINS incident on hydrated alcohol fuel and on anhydrous alcohol added to gasoline for a longer period, until June 30, 2027 time limit allowed by the Budget Guidelines Law of 2022. The cost of this measure is calculated at R$3.34 billion for this year, R$7.5 billion for 2023 and R$7.8 billion for 2024.

So far, 11 amendments to the project have been presented, but the rapporteur says he will only comment on the amendments on Monday, the day on which the Senate should vote on the proposal in plenary.

*In update