For speed up recovery of the regions devastated by the rains, the government of Rio Grande do Sul is analyzing measures to revive the economy of the cities affected by the floods. Among the suggestions studied are the provision of credit lines for affected companies and also the postponement of ICMS payment by these companies.
O state secretary of Economic Development, Ernani Polo, held this Monday afternoon (11) a meeting with members of the State Treasury Department, banks and commercial ociations of municipalities to discuss these issues. To offer financing lines to those affected by the rains, the State has the possibility of resorting to the Banrisul, Badesul and BRDE and Polo adds that the matter will also be discussed with the BNDES. He reinforces that the idea is to obtain these lines with special conditions so that companies can have resources for working capital, machinery replacement and other actions.
Asked about How long could this financing be made available?, the secretary states that “as quickly as possible, but we are building this, we received some demands, some suggestions and we will evaluate it internally”. A proposal that was also made by the business sector is the creation of a line of credit for paying salaries. However, Polo states that this situation is not currently being addressed by the Rio Grande do Sul government. One option he mentioned would be something similar to what happened during the coronavirus pandemics, when the federal government paid, for a period, the workers’ salaries.
Already the State Secretary of Finance, Pricilla Maria Santana, adds that, from a revenue and fiscal point of view, the State will soon implement the reversal of credit relating to companies’ stock. “So, whoever had a loss of stock will not have to pay tax on that, on the merchandise that was lost”, details Pricilla. Another action will be to format a project for ICMS exemptions for acquisitions and donations of machinery and equipment, among others.
In addition to the issue of financing and exemptions, the State Secretary for Economic Development reveals that the possibility of postponement of ICMS payment by companies. Polo also met this Monday with representatives of entities such as Federasul, Fecomércio, Fiergs, Central Única de Favelas (Cufa), Rotary, Lions, Feevale University, Marcopolo Foundation and Federation of Chambers of Shop Managers of Rio Grande do Sul.
According to him, the intention is to begin a governance process to serve people and companies (mainly micro and small ones) affected by the rains. “The goal is to create a council of various entities to carry out this essment, with commercial ociations from the most affected municipalities, so that the resources reach those who need them most”, explains the director. O governor Eduardo Leite was also present at the meeting with these entities. “This integration is fundamental because, based on the knowledge of each of these entities, we will be able to direct the initiatives with more precision”, emphasizes Leite.
– Coordination with Badesul, BRDE, Banrisul, Caixa and Banco do Brasil, together with BNDES, aiming to establish a fund of financing lines so that industries and companies from all activities can invest in the fastest return to economic activities preserving local jobs;
– Creation of a special line of credit for the payment of salaries and a proposal to the federal government to suspend the collection of labor charges;
– Suspension of ICMS payment and provision of installments to pay off the tax.
According to Fiergs, these measures, along with others adopted by the state and federal governments, “will certainly hasten the regional economic recovery, with immediate social repercussions through the preservation of jobs and local income”.