Representatives of the manufacturing sector in Rio Grande do Norte continue to reject the amendment presented by the head of government, Deputy Francisco do PT, which would maintain the ICMS rate at 19% from 2024. The original text put to a vote in the Assembly provided for a rate of 20% with no time limit. Now the Law provides for a rate of 18%.
In this regard, entities maintain unchanged positions against increasing the tax burden in the state, such as the Federation of Industries of Rio Grande do Norte (Fern). “The industry position remains in favor of returning the ICMS rate to 18% as enacted by the Legislature in 2022. This is what we proposed to the parliament,” said the president of the institution, Roberto Serkis.
President Fiern stated that “the industry in Rio Grande do Norte is in a recovery phase, trying to return to the level it was at in 2011”.
For Serkis, raising taxes “is a further sacrifice of a source of resources and jobs, which slows down that recovery. For RNs, any increase at this time will have a negative impact.”
According to Serquiz, Rio Grande do Norte is losing economic competitiveness compared to other states, “being, in the last ranking, second to last in this regard in the Northeast and 23rd in the country, if evaluated from the perspective of the budget. durability, machine efficiency and market potential’.
Roberto Serkis also said that “it is clear that it is not enough to think about increasing revenues, if, on the other hand, there is no emergency plan for the financial balance of the state.”
The Federation of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Region (FAERN), as the organization representing the agricultural sector in Rio Grande do Norte, opposes the increase in taxes because it understands that the production sector and society in Rio Grande do Norte as in general can no longer bear the burden of a tax burden that hinders job creation and economic growth.
The president of the Federation of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Rio Grande do Norte (Faern), José Álvarez Vieira, said the state “needs to look for alternatives that contribute to financial sustainability without producers and people having to pay more taxes.”

In addition, added Álvarez Vieira, at this moment “Rio Grande do Norte has an excellent opportunity to present a competitive advantage compared to other states in the Northeast, returning the rate to 18% from 2024 and attracting new companies, new investments in all production chains and creating more jobs for the people of Rio Grande do Norte.”
The Federation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism of Rio Grande do Norte (FecomercioRN) reaffirms its position against increasing the ICMS rate, be it 20% or even 19%, because of its impact on society in Rio Grande do Norte , especially for consumers and commercial entrepreneurs.
In addition to all the technical arguments already presented by the organization, the president of FecomercioRN, Marcelo Queiroz, said that during this debate “we understand that the return to the 18% rate, as provided by the current legislation, will bring more competitiveness and will be a differentiated attraction, especially in comparison with the neighboring states, which will significantly contribute to the process of economic recovery of the Republic of Moldova.”

“We understand the level of complexity of the topic, but the official data shows repeated records of collection in the RN, especially due to the fixed rate (ad rem) on fuel,” argued Queiroz, who concluded: “A broader and deeper view is needed that allows for sustainable measures that do not punish the population.’
This Thursday (07), for the third time in a row, the Legislative Assembly did not get a quorum – the minimum required number of eight deputies to open yesterday’s regular session, once again postponing the vote on the PT appeal against ICMS and other matters of interest to parliamentarians.
The President of the House of Representatives, Deputy Ezequiel Ferreira (PSDB), again used the pole device to announce that the clause on the absence of deputies in the plenary session will be shortened.
Ferreira also said that all the issues that are managed by the president and not considered due to the absence of the session are in the next session: “Now, on Tuesday (12), at the usual time, at 10:30 in the morning, the day that we there will be eight deputies, we will open the session. And in order to vote on issues, we need at least 12 plus one, that is, 13 deputies, so that we can consider the issues that are already on the agenda, there are issues of deputies and there are other issues that need to be considered. legislative chamber.”
Deputies remain against this proposal
The state government lowered its proposal to adopt the new ICMS rate in Rio Grande do Norte by 1 percentage point, but an attempt to persuade to turn the vote against the issue did not have the expected effect in the Legislature.
Initially, the executive proposed a rate of 20%, but late on Wednesday night (6) the head of the government, the state deputy of Francisco from PT, submitted an amendment to the bill, changing the percentage to 19%.
However, MPs, who had already voted against approving the 20 per cent rate under the law approved in December 2022, remain adamant in advocating the return of the 18 per cent rate from January 2024.
In the assessment of the Vice-President of the Assembly, Member of State Tombo Farias (PSDB), “this new government proposal on ICMS comes a little late, especially because the appeal against the postponement of the project has not yet been heard, so this proposal is not appropriate.”
Deputy Tomba Farias refers to the appeal filed by the PT bench, with the aim of canceling the final opinion of the Committee on Finance and Inspection (CFF) of the House of Representatives against the increase in the tax burden of the government, blocking the forwarding of the question for discussion in the plenary session.
“It is inappropriate to amend something that has not yet been evaluated, so there is a lot of controversy in this process,” said Farias, for whom the presentation of the 19% index should have happened a few days ago, “if it had not pulled the rope. , the government is overthrown, what you are doing, the press is overthrowing the deputies who open and close the session and want to blame us.”
For Farias, “everyone knows that it is not our fault, especially because today we are experiencing ICMS at 20% and the government is announcing that it is delaying the payment of the 13th salary of the staff.”
Tomba Farias then believes that “the problem is not the tax. It is not a problem that instead of sending taxes to the Assembly for approval, the government should order the creation of a new department (of culture, separated from the education department) to increase spending.”
Finally, Tomba Farias believes that the government “is in a very difficult situation, wanting one thing, asking another thing and denying another thing.”
State MP Galena Torkwata (PSDB) says his position is “the same” as when he voted against the increase from 18% to 20% in December 2022. “There is no way to support a tax increase,” summed up the parliamentarian, who defends the adoption of the 18% rate from January.
“I’m not voting for a tax increase,” said state deputy Luis Eduardo (Solidariedade), for whom there is only one possibility of a political agreement with the government: “The 18% rate, which I will work to preserve.”
The government’s proposed amendment is that the 19% rate will apply from January 2024 to December 2026, returning to 18% from January 2027.