The president Dilma Rousseff fulfilled her promise to “commit herself” to extend the tax benefits of the Manaus Free Zone until 2073. This Wednesday (19), 364 parliamentarians approved in the Chamber of Deputies, in the first round, the maintenance of tax incentives for industries, responsible for the direct employment of more than 100 thousand people in the capital of Amazonas.
The Northern bench, headed by the PMDB, has been pressing for the vote since 2011, when President Dilma sent the PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) to Congress. An impasse with the PT and PSDB benches in the South and Southeast regions put a stop to the matter.
The parties demand the extension of benefits to industries encouraged by the Information Technology Law until 2069. The government proposes an extension of just ten years.
An agreement between the benches defined this Wednesday that the vote for the Free Trade Zone PEC, in the second round, will be scheduled after the parties agree on the approval of the IT Law projects and the validity of free trade areas in the North region, informed the Chamber Agency. After voting in the House is over, the bill goes to the Senate.
According to the government leader, deputy Arlindo Chinaglia (PT-SP), the agreement between the parties provided for the vote only on the 50-year extension of the Free Zone because other matters cannot be dealt with in the Constitution. “Free trade areas need homogeneous rules to avoid confrontations within the scope of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In Acre, the term is indefinite. In Roraima, it is for 30 years,” he declared.
In the same way, Chinaglia said that the extension of the benefits of the Information Technology Law could not occur through the Free Zone PEC because of the vice of initiative. “The government’s proposal is for a ten-year extension,” said the government leader.
During the voting in the first round of the PEC for the Manaus Free Trade Zone in the Chamber, there were three votes against and three abstentions. Follow the vote here.
The Information Technology Law grants tax incentives for taxes such as the IPI (Imposto sobre Produtos Industrializados) for information technology companies (personal computers, memory disks, electronic circuits, etc.). The incentives last until 2019. In 2012, the industries earned R$ 43.5 billion. The expansion of the tax exemption may create new information technology centers in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, which takes investments away from Manaus.
With more than 600 industries installed, the Manaus Free Trade Zone did not consolidate an IT hub. The main segments are electronics and two wheels. The tax exemption for industries runs until 2023. In 2012, companies earned R$ 73.4 billion. Direct jobs add up to more than 118,000 jobs.
Read what politicians and experts say about the impasse with the Information Technology Law.
