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On Thursday (02/06), Supreme Court (STF) Minister André Mendonça received in his office state secretaries and Union Attorney General Bruno Bianco, to try to facilitate an agreement on the Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Fuel Services (ICMS). Mendonça is the rapporteur of an action that discusses the ICMS collection method. The federal government is looking for a way to lower fuel prices and it is targeting the ICMS, which is a state tax. However, the states have been claiming that the tax is not the villain behind the soaring prices.
Single Rate
In March, a new law defined that there should be a single rate of ICMS on diesel throughout the country and that it was to be charged only once in the market chain. Previously, the tax was charged as a percentage of the price, and each state had the autonomy to establish its own percentage. The state finance secretaries met in March and set a single ICMS amount to be charged on fuel. The value established at the time a value of R$ 1,006 per liter of S10 diesel oil. The government argues, however, that the amount set was higher than previously charged, which would allow states to circumvent the sanctioned law.