President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) said this Thursday (10) that the bill voted on by the Senate that changes rules for charging ICMS (Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Services) on fuels and zeroing PIS/Cofins rates should generate a reduction of R$ 0.60 per liter of diesel — which would lessen the impact of the increase announced by Petrobras.
“The tax discount from the sanction of the law will be R$ 0.60 [por litro] in the price of diesel”, said Bolsonaro, during his weekly live broadcast on social media.
He also stated that he intends to sanction the proposal as soon as it is definitively approved by Congress.
“If the Chamber approves today, I don’t care what time it is, I sign any time of the night or dawn. And from tomorrow, for example, on the diesel issue, instead of charging another R$ 0.90 a liter —which is absurd— you would charge another R$ 0.30. It’s a lot, but it reduces this impact”, he declared.
Bolsonaro also complained about the fact that Petrobras had announced the adjustment this Thursday, before the Legislative considered the proposals.
“How good it would be if Petrobras readjusted on Monday (14) or Tuesday (15). But I can’t interfere with Petrobras, even though I’m the majority shareholder. If I could leave the fuel readjustment on Monday or Tuesday, everything would be solved quietly. So we’re running with it,” he said.
Petrobras announced this Thursday readjustments in the prices of gasoline, diesel and cooking gas. The highs come into effect this Friday (11).
The state-owned company is pressured by the advance of oil prices with the war between Russia and Ukraine.
In the case of gasoline, the adjustment for distributors is 18.8%. The average price at the state-owned refineries will go from R$3.25 to R$3.86 per liter. For diesel, the increase is even greater, at 24.9%. The value will rise by almost R$ 1 per liter, from R$ 3.61 to R$ 4.51.
According to the text voted on this Thursday in the Senate, the states must regulate the creation of a single ICMS rate on fuels within the scope of Confaz (National Council for Finance Policy). In addition, the text provides for a change in the rate model, from a percentage on the value (ad valorem) to a fixed value on the liter (ad rem).
The single rate must be applied to gasoline, diesel, ethanol, cooking gas and aviation kerosene. Although unified among the states, the charges may be differentiated by type of fuel, according to the text.
While this is not implemented by the governors, the tax on diesel and biodiesel will have to be levied on a defined calculation basis, obtained by the moving average of the last five years.
The rule, treated as a transition, would be in effect until December 31, 2022. In practice, the text forces an immediate change in the tax.
The writing now goes to the Chamber.
The Senate also approved another bill, which creates a stabilization account to cushion readjustments and establishes guidelines for a new national pricing policy.
The text doubles the scope of Auxílio Gás, paid to beneficiaries of Auxílio Brasil, and creates an aid of up to BRL 300 per month to help taxi drivers, app drivers and delivery men pay for gasoline costs.
Also in the live, Bolsonaro acknowledged that the advance in fuel prices should cause truck drivers to stop in the country.
“We work things out, it takes time, the price is expensive. There are a lot of truck drivers there that are going to stop. I know that, I’m sorry, because [ele] no longer support this tax burden and it is a global issue”.
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