The change in the ICMS rate for industries in Santa Catarina, which takes effect next Sunday, because it brings economic impacts to the State, but may arrive as a reduction for the consumer.
Therefore, the tax of 17% paid by the sector until Saturday on retail sales in Santa Catarina will be 12%.
However, this puts the SC industry on the same level as companies in Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná, which sold their products to stores in Santa Catarina with ICMS at 12%.
According to the Secretary of State for Finance, Paulo Eli, the change will have, above all, an economic effect. For the consumer, he classifies the result as “neutral”.
That is, Eli does not bet on changes in prices. In government coffers, however, the medium-term impact could reach R$ 1 billion.
This is because local industries will start selling more to Santa Catarina retailers, who previously opted to buy from neighboring states due to the lower tax.
Vassim's change in the rate has been celebrated by the Federation of Industries of Santa Catarina (Fiesc). For years, the entity had been fighting for the reduction.
The president of Fiesc, Mario Cezar Aguiar says that “it made no sense for our industry to have a tax burden greater than that of neighboring states” and that “the change will stimulate production and, consequently, the generation of jobs and wealth in Santa Catarina"
But what about a reduction?
The new model, approved at Alesc at the end of 2019, directly benefits industries. On the other hand, retailers will continue to pay 17% for products sold to consumers. Pressure from the retail sector, however, led Fiesc to ensure that industries will pass on the 5% of the difference.
For the president of the Federation of Chambers of Shopkeepers of Santa Catarina (FCDL), Ivan Tauffer, if the promise is fulfilled, the consumer will be able to feel the impact with the price reduction. Otherwise, as Tauffer guarantees, retailers will seek Alesc's support for changing the industry's current rate of 17%.
In the case of bars and restaurants, the logic is the same. But, according to the president of the Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants in Santa Catarina (Abrasel), Raphael Dabdab, the impact should be small. And the explanation is mathematical.
The price of a meal dish, for example, is calculated based on a number of factors. Although being that the cost of food represents only a part of them.
As the 5% already means a small portion, the effect of reducing the values will be small,
