Deputies and businesspeople call for maintenance of incentives for tourism and events – News

03/27/2024 – 13:18
• Updated on 03/27/2024 – 21:10

Parliamentarians and businesspeople defended this Wednesday (27), during general commission in the Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies, the full maintenance of the Emergency Program for the Resumption of the Events Sector (Perse).

The end of Perse is foreseen in two provisional measures (1202/23 and 1208/24) sent by the Executive Branch to the National Congress. The Lula government’s initiative has been the target of criticism since December, when the first of the MPs appeared.

In March, after meeting with the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), and party leaders, the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, promised to send a bill to the Legislature to create a leaner version of the program.

Pandemic crisis
For the president of the Brazilian Hotel Industry Association, Manuel Linhares, the end of Perse would bring legal uncertainty. “What is the point of cutting off the legs of someone who is rising from the worst crisis in their history?”, he asked.

According to deputy Paulo Litro (PSD-PR), president of the Chamber’s Tourism Committee, the tourism and events segments today together account for 12% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and around 10 million formal jobs.

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, the events sector lost R$230 billion in revenue; tourism, R$475 billion”, recalled Paulo Litro. “If it weren’t for this program, thousands and thousands of jobs would have been lost,” he continued.

“The program is necessary for the recovery and boost of relevant sectors in GDP”, stated deputy Gilson Daniel (PODE-ES), president of Parliamentary Front Mixed Brazilian Hotel Industry.

Created in 2021 to completely exempt taxes on events, hotels and tourism, among others, Perse would last two years, in order to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2023, it ended up being extended by Congress.

Tax Waiver
According to the Ministry of Finance, the tax waiver in Perse exceeded the estimate of R$4.4 billion per year. Preliminary data would indicate that it would be between R$17 billion and R$32 billion in 2023, hence the idea of ​​ending the program.

When criticizing the Treasury, the president of the Integrated System of Parks and Tourist Attractions, Murilo Pascoal, said that Perse resulted in around R$20 billion in tax transactions. “The program must be monitored, not limited,” he said.

In the general committee, there was no one who defended the government. In addition to Gilson Daniel, deputies Altineu Côrtes (PL-RJ), Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), Rogéria Santos (Republicanos-BA) and Vitor Lippi (PSDB-SP) requested the meeting.

Report – Ralph Machado
Editing – Marcelo Oliveira