Panel SA: CPI on tax benefits ends frustrated in São Paulo

Alesp’s Tax Benefits CPI ends up without having actually started.

This Wednesday (16), deputy Caio França, rapporteur for the commission created to investigate the granting of billionaire tax benefits by the state of São Paulo, will present the final document produced at the work meetings.

Due to the constant lack of a minimum quorum, the CPI was only able to debate the issue of tax exemptions, without convening anyone.

The initial objective was to question two secretaries of the Doria government, the one for Finance and Planning, Henrique Meirelles, and the one for Economic Development, Patricia Ellen.

Paulo Fiorilo (PT-SP), chairman of the parliamentary commission, says he does not accept the boycott of the ruling base, whom he accuses of sabotaging the investigation.

For the deputy, the meetings with specialists held by the working group made it clear that other states, such as Pará, have a transparent policy on tax benefits and that “São Paulo makes mistakes because it wants to”.

Fiorilo says that nobody is against granting tax benefits, but the state lacks information about who receives them, how much, for how long and the return of this initiative to the citizen.

In addition to Fiorilo and França, representatives Castello Branco and Edmir Chedid were present at the ordinary meetings without a quorum and at the work meetings.

The CPI was installed with nine full members and nine alternates at the end of 2021 to investigate possible irregularities in the granting of tax benefits in the tucano governments, which, according to the PT, resulted in the waiver of revenue of more than BRL 118 billion in ten years.

Joana Cunha with Andressa Motter and Ana Paula Branco ​