RS public debt reaches R $ 67 billion in 2017 and beats a new record | Rio Grande do Sul

This volume represents a growth of 2.1% compared to that recorded in 2016, of 66.2 billion reais. This increase is due to two factors: interest plus correction and the fact that the state has stopped raising nearly 3 billion reais to the federal government.

Between January and June of last year, payments were reduced and, from July to December, payments were suspended through a preliminary injunction obtained from the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in August. It is money that the state has stopped sending to Brasilia, but that has an impact on the future.

Debt with the federal government represents about 89% of the total debt. In December, two additives were signed to the 1998 contract – formalized under the government of Antônio Britto (then in the PMDB).

The signing brought benefits, such as the exchange of indexes and the reduction of interest, plus a longer term for the settlement, which represented a reduction in cash flow. The government plans, for example, to reduce what will be paid in ten years.

"In the order of R $ 22 billion, we have a reduction already in effect in relation to our debt and we have a total reduction in the next ten years that will be in effect against these adjustments," says the Finance Secretary Luiz Antônio Bins.

However, the agreement also provides for additional expenditures over the next few years. This has increased the responsibility.

To remedy the situation, the government hopes to conclude the agreement with the EU on the tax recovery scheme (RRF) in August. "We are dependent on construction, reaching a consensus with the union on how to demonstrate that the sum of our staff expenses plus debt exceeds 70% of net current income in 2017," notes the secretary.

If you sign this agreement, Rio Grande do Sul can stay three years without paying the debt, a term that can be extended by three others. This means to stop sending to Brasília, during this period, about 11.3 billion reais.

However, to qualify for these benefits, the state must provide counterparties, such as state privatization, reduce corporate tax incentives to 10% per annum and no longer withdraw from the government. 39, money from judicial filings.

Finance Secretary Luiz Antônio Bins also defended the continued rise in the ICMS rate as one of the important steps for the Gaucho government to conclude this bargain. This, according to Piratini, guarantees an additional $ 2 billion in cash per year.

The entity that represents the tax technicians of the Treasury argues that Piratini also covers the credits that it must receive from the Union, such as compensation for taxes not collected by exporters, called the Kandir law.