The entity’s president, Luiz Carlos Bohn, stated that, despite the announcements made by governments, new measures need to be implemented to help restore the state’s economy.
The president of Fecomércio from Rio Grande do Sul, Luiz Carlos Bohntold the Power360 that the announcements from the 3 spheres of government were not effective for companies in Rio Grande do Sul affected by the rains. According to him, subsidized loans are not easily available for businesses.
Bohn criticized the tax payment extension measures. He mentioned that the state’s economy was widely affected. Many companies must remain idle for 1 to 2 months. For him, Rio Grande do Sul will only be able to rebuild easily with non-refundable money, that is, with loans without the obligation to repay.
“Nothing got off the ground, nothing became an act. [Medidas] announced actually exist, but nothing effective. We are anxiously looking for resources to start the recovery”he said. “We need money”he stated.
Watch the full interview (35min54s):
The government Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) announced at least 3 tax extension measures, which, for Fecomércio-RS, are insufficient:
- Simple national – the May installment was postponed to June; that of
July, to August; - FGTS – the installments of the Service Time Guarantee Fund for April, May, June and July were postponed for payment until October (divided into 4 interest-free installments);
- debts with the Treasury Attorney’s Office – The April, May and June installments now have new dates: July, August and September.
The entrepreneurs’ assessment is that the measures are insufficient. All debts must be paid by companies at the end of the new deadline. Two credit measures were also released, but it is difficult to access them, according to the president of Fecomércio-RS.
“It’s a lot of advertising and little results. I contacted my bank, what happened: everything we are hearing about, there is no writing for us. So really, [para as empresas] little happened”he stated.
Businesspeople want “Perse”
The president of Fecomércio-RS said that he asked the federal government to apply a plan similar to Perse (Emergency Program for the Resumption of the Events Sector), with a reduction or suspension of taxes for companies in Rio Grande do Sul. According to him, the measure is urgent for the reconstruction of the state economy.
He explains that the program would be applied to state taxes and collected by the Union. He mentioned: Income Tax, PIS (Social Integration Program), Cofins (Contribution to the Financing of Social Security), Social Contribution on Profit and IPI (Tax on industrialized products). There were no responses to the request, he said.
“Companies and people pay more than R$60 billion [em impostos] per year, and this does not return in full. We are proposing several measures […] We understand that this needs to be done so that companies can return with their jobs while maintaining people’s jobs”he said.
Perse was created during the pandemic to mitigate economic impacts on the culture and tourism sector. He defined, at the time:
- reduction of tax rates to 0%;
- debt renegotiation;
- indemnity.
On May 22, the text was amended and extended by 2026 for 30 economic activities.
Worse than the pandemic
The losses of companies in Rio Grande do Sul can reach R$ 10 billion, according to Fecomércio-RS. In total, 661 thousand companies are located in cities in emergency situations. The state’s flooding directly impacted at least 66,000 businesses. Here’s the complete (PDF – 118 kB)
The businessman explains that the current economic situation in Rio Grande do Sul is more “aggravated” than that recorded during the covid-19 pandemic. In his opinion, many companies affected by the catastrophe will not return to work.
The scenario takes place at a time when the State was registering growth in companies. In April this year, before the flood, Rio Grande do Sul recorded a 12% increase in the number of company openings.
“During the pandemic it was not as serious as it is now. During the pandemic, we stopped meeting, we stopped doing business, but we didn’t lose assets”he said.
Apart from that, the retail sector was the hardest hit, said the businessman.
“If we don’t look at companies, people will have a very big problem post-catastrophe, which is the shutdown, the non-continuation of jobs […] Even in places where water has not reached, stores are not selling anything”he stated.
3 years for reconstruction
Fecomércio-RS projects it will take 3 years for a concrete reconstruction of Rio Grande do Sul if there are major measures to help companies.
“We imagine that in these 3 years we can return to a situation close to the one we had before this catastrophe […] If we don’t look at companies now, people will have a very big problem post-catastrophe, which is the shutdown, the non-continuity of jobs”, he said.
Municipal elections
Bohn said that the federal government’s discussion of postponing municipal elections does not favor Rio Grande do Sul in the process of rebuilding the state’s economy.
“It is not the extension of the elections that will solve the problem. What will solve the problem is financial resources. If in fact this extension of the election were to put the resources that are spent [no período eleitoral], I would still have doubts as to whether it is justified. Democracy, elections, are one of our consolidated things and I think that the electoral process does not change the scenario.”
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