Bolsonaro government promotes dismantling of the Federal Revenue, says Sindifisco president

The auditors are mobilized to defend the structure of the Federal Revenue, which is suffering an unprecedented scrap, says Isac Falcão, president of Sindifisco Nacional (Brazilian Federal Revenue Auditors Union).

According to him, 1,200 of a total of 1,700 leadership positions have already been delivered because managers understand that their teams are not in a position to adequately fulfill their duties.

Falcão says that the mobilization seeks to preserve the structure of the State, which has been threatened by the current administration.

“President Bolsonaro has a consistent policy of devaluation of the public service, not only in the Federal Revenue, but in all agencies. We are experiencing a permanent dismantling of the public service, institutions, the Brazilian State”, says Falcão.

The report contacted the Palácio do Planalto press office to comment on the statement and received no response.

The auditors ask for the recomposition of the Revenue’s budget, which had a cut of R$ 1.2 billion, equivalent to 51%, this year. In the current government, the budget went from R$3.6 billion in 2019 to R$1.3 billion this year. According to the union, the amount covers expenses only until May.

They also want to schedule a contest to replace 5,000 servers that have retired, which has reduced the workforce by 40%. They also claim the regularization of the law that created a performance bonus.

Falcão highlights that, despite the fact that salary recomposition is not the focus of the auditors, he considers the idea that civil servants, as they enjoy job stability and salaries far above the Brazilian average, should give their sacrifice quota at a time of recovery still fragile economy and labor market.

“If there is to be a sacrifice quota, the government could establish it in regulated prices. In telecommunication services, electricity, fuel. Everything is increasing above inflation”, he says.

The government raised the possibility of granting a linear adjustment of 5%, and the auditors’ union released a note warning that this does not interrupt the mobilization. Why? Our mobilization has different reasons. First of all, the situation in the Federal Revenue today is unsustainable because of the 51% cut in the budget. This makes the institution unfeasible.

In addition, 5,000 auditors have retired in recent years and there has been no public tender for replacement. This reduced the number of auditors by 40%. In other words, we work with 60% of the workforce. There were more than 12,000, today there are just over 7,000.

The government also did not regulate Law 13,464 within the period established by the law itself, that is, it failed to comply with the law.

What is this law about? The law organized, in 2017, a bonus program in the Revenue. It provided for the Executive to install a committee to manage this program. The committee has not been installed until today.

In short, these were three reasons that led to the mobilization of tax auditors.

And the salary increase? This is not the subject of our mobilization. Our questions do not concern the amount of salary, but the working conditions.

But isn’t a bonus a salary gain? It can represent an increase in the long term, if the target index, defined by the government, is reached [pela proposta, os indicadores de desempenho e metas são estabelecidos no planejamento estratégico da Receita].

Companies have already questioned that the bonus can have the opposite effect. By linking bonuses to inspection, for example, some auditors would become aggressive in the demands to achieve the goals, and receive the bonus. Now, that’s impossible. This fear concerns the original wording of MP 765/2016. It provided that part of the collection of fines would form the basis on which the efficiency bonus would be calculated. This part of the provisional measure was rejected by Congress in the conversion to Law 13,464, definitively ruling out this possibility.

The program will then be funded by a specific fund intended for the Revenue’s own activities, Fundaf, with actions such as reducing process time and strategic planning.

Those who are against the readjustment of servers argue that millions of Brazilians were out of work in the pandemic, while the civil service can enjoy job stability, many in the security of the home office. In addition, careers that are slowing down the pace of work have high salaries by national standards, they are in the elite of the civil service. So, they could have more patience and give a sacrifice quota at this time. like mr. see this argument? If there is to be a sacrifice quota, the government could set it at regulated prices. In telecommunication services, electricity, fuels. Everything is increasing above inflation, sometimes based on international prices, as is the case with Petrobras’ fuel adjustments.

Although our mobilization points to structural and non-salary problems, in general terms, I also disagree with the formulation that those who earn more should not have their salary readjusted.

Everything is getting readjusted. Gasoline, electric bills, gas cylinders, school, education and health items. All. In the same way that companies readjust prices and workers in the private sector have the right to improve their performance, public servants also have the right to readjust, and this right has been systematically disrespected.

The government has not readjusted the salary, that of the civil servants, for five years.

And the readjustment suggested by the government, even in the way it was communicated, is offensive. The government did not make an announcement, it made a kind of leak to the press testing reactions, and the reactions could not be different. The servers thought it was absurd.

After an accumulated inflation of over 30% since the last adjustment, there is an offer that does not even cover the current inflation of the first months of this year. In the Bolsonaro government alone, inflation rose above 20%.

How to talk about sacrifice quota for people who are working? Workers in Brazil are showing an extraordinary level of patience. No more patience should be asked of him, whether he is a worker in the private sector or in the public sector.

Some claim that the president helped other categories to make claims by advocating the readjustment only for police officers. Mr. do you agree? The question that matters is another. President Bolsonaro has a consistent policy of devaluation of the public service, not only in the Federal Revenue, but in all organs. We are experiencing a permanent dismantling of the public service, of institutions, of the Brazilian State. That to me is clear.

Dismantle is a strong word. Have examples? Cutting any institution’s budget by 50% is a form of dismantling, anywhere. It can be in a public office, a factory, a newspaper, a foundation. No organization remains the same in this situation.

If you let thousands retire, without replacing them, knowledge is not passed on to the next generations of workers, it is lost. So you’re dismantling the working processes and methods, because they’re not being passed along. This is disassembly.

In the same way, when you fail to comply for five years with a law that is expected, there is an expectation in relation to it, creating dissatisfaction, demotivation, and disorganizing the institutional work environment, it is dismantled.

Given the intensity of the situation, I wouldn’t say dismantling is a strong term. It’s a compatible word, maybe even soft.

What is the balance of mobilization? We are intensifying the delivery of positions. Out of a total of 1,700 management positions, the tax auditors delivered 1,200. This is an unusual thing. At that level, I’ve never seen it happen. When a person gives up a managerial position, he gives up a commission, that is, he gives up part of the salary.

They refuse to take on the leadership role because their teams are not in a position to adequately fulfill their duties. The IRS is becoming unmanageable, not because of the desire of the auditors, but because of the dismantling that makes its functioning difficult.

We are also carrying out standard customs operations, which have become more widespread. Entrepreneurs have already expressed their views on this issue, including publicly.

Customs operate in the binomial security and agility. As teams are reduced and budget is lost, they cannot maintain the same security with the same agility.

Progressively, what has been done is to give up agility for security. Giving up border security is very dangerous for the Brazilian economy. The entry of products without the due payment of tax on imports threatens local production.

And to have security and agility, a greater number of auditors is needed.

Entrepreneurs are complaining about the lack of agility, but it would be worse for Brazil if the tax auditors did not mobilize and allow the lack of security in which we live to become permanent.

What would be the minimum offer for the category to end the mobilization? We need the three points I mentioned. Recomposition of the revenue budget, which is fundamental, the recomposition of the tax auditors and the regulation of the law. Without these three points, it is very difficult for auditors to be able to put the Revenue to work again. But of course, with every move by the government, we redo the discussion, hold assemblies. That’s the process.

WHAT DOES THE FEDERAL REVENUE DO?

The Federal Revenue is responsible for the structure of the federal tax collection system and part of that of the states and municipalities, via participation funds, which supports the social security and state budgets. It is responsible for the regulation, inspection and administrative judgments, when taxpayers question the payment of taxes. The following are under your Federal Revenue Service umbrella for collection purposes:

at airports
35 passenger terminals
41 load terminals

in the ports
38 terminals, organized into 44 river and lake port facilities and 165 maritime port facilities

On the Earth border
27 border posts
10 police stations;

inside the country
66 dry ports
7 customs industrial logistics centers
3 international postal delivery centers
3 express shipping processing hubs.

Must monitor:
16 federal taxes, including taxes, contributions and fees

– IRPF (Individual Income Tax)
– IRPJ (Corporate Income Tax)
– IRRF (Income tax withheld at source)
– CSLL (Social contribution on net income)
– IOF (Tax on Credit, Exchange and Insurance Transactions, or on Securities)
– ITR (Rural Territorial Tax)
– IPI (Tax on industrialized products)
– II (Import tax)
– IE (Export tax)
– Social security contributions of individuals
– Social security contributions of legal entities
– Contribution to PIS/Pasep and Cofins
– Cide-fuels (Contribution for intervention in the economic domain incident on operations carried out with fuels)
– Cide-remittances (Contribution of intervention in the economic domain levied on remittances abroad)
– AFRMM (Additional freight for merchant marine renewal)
– Siscomex usage fee