Fuel Rapporteur accepts reduction of federal tax on diesel and gas

In search of consensus to vote on measures to reduce fuel prices, the rapporteur Jean Paul Prates (PT-RN) decided to remove the controversial tax on crude oil exports from his text. This tax would be one of the ways to finance a compensation account, whose resources will be used to mitigate the impact of sharper fluctuations in fuel prices.

On another front, Jean Paul Prates was also open to accepting modification in another project under his rapporteur, which changes the rules of ICMS (Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Services) of fuels. The rapporteur stated that he will only accept in the plenary a proposal that eliminates the collection of federal taxes Pis and Confins on diesel and cooking gas.

The changes take place on the eve of the new date scheduled for the vote by senators of the two proposals that seek to reduce the price of fuel, this Wednesday (23). Because of the resistance, some parliamentarians have even said that voting can only wait until after Carnival.

The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), said this Tuesday (22) that he will keep the two projects on the agenda of the plenary of the House, but acknowledged that the vote could be postponed.

“Ideally, this should be resolved as soon as possible. But obviously it is a very complex issue, it involves different interests of states of the federation, the federal government and tax collection. vote”, said Pacheco, upon arriving for the Senate session.

“If eventually you can’t do it this week, immediately next week that there is a session of the Senate it will be on the agenda again”, he added.

The proposal that creates a stabilization account, whose resources will be used to avoid price rises in cases of fluctuations in oil prices, had as its most controversial point the tax on the export of crude oil.

The tribute was included in the original project, authored by Prates’ coreligionist, Senator Rogério Carvalho (PT-SE). The main benches in the Senate, such as the MDB, PSD and PSDB, were against the tax.

“On the way, we discovered a better option to finance the stabilization account”, said Jean Paul Prates in the early evening of Tuesday (22).

The senator said that it was chosen to list only the “windflow” gains of the Union, those arising from exchange rate variations or the price of oil, for example. Prates listed royalties, signing bonuses and special participations in oil production.

The other proposal that can go to the vote provides for a change in the rules on fuel taxes. The main change in this complementary bill will be the inclusion of a government amendment to zero the collection of federal taxes, Pis and Confins, for diesel and cooking gas.

The exemption of these products has been defended by President Jair Bolsonaro (PL). The ruling senator Soraya Thronicke (PSL-MS) presented an amendment providing for the total reduction of PIS/Pasep and Confins levied on the importation of diesel oil and cooking gas.

Prates did not immediately finish the amendment in his report, justifying that it would not include a tax exemption that would be imposed on the federal executive. However, he stated that he is open to including it during the plenary consideration, if there is support from a majority of senators.

Prates maintained the guidelines of the previous version of his report, which will not impose changes in the ICMS rules – for fear of unconstitutionality, for entering the competences of the states – but said that he will seek to “induce” the states to accept.

The proposal maintains a forecast that states will be able to adopt monophasic fuels – a uniform national rate. However, in the meantime, they will have to adopt a rate for diesel that will be calculated based on the fuel price of the last five years.

However, the previous version foresaw that the Confaz clearinghouse (Conselho Nacional de Política Fazendária) could meet to discuss the adoption of monophasia. The new version will be more assertive and determines that Confaz “must” meet to deliberate on this issue.

Prates also maintained in this text the forecast of doubling the number of families benefiting from the Auxílio-Gás, reaching 11 million families. The resources will come from the exploration of the Sépia and Atapu pre-salt fields.

Despite recent changes, the mood in the Senate halls is that the proposal could be postponed until after Carnival. Many parliamentarians believe that the proposal is very controversial and that it needs to be better debated.

In the early afternoon, Senator Omar Aziz (PSD-AM) said that everyone needs to make their contribution, states and the federal government. Aziz questioned the focus on state taxes, claiming that the government had been justifying the rise in the dollar as one of the main reasons for the increase in fuel prices. However, he argues, the dollar has been falling and no one is considering the possibility of lowering prices at pumps.​