Commission will discuss next Wednesday, June 1st, the increase in fuel prices and the methodology applied by Petrobras to define the price

Next Wednesday, June 1st, the Finance and Taxation Commission of the Chamber of Deputies will promote a debate on the increase in fuel prices in Brazil. In addition to debating fuels, the methodology that Petrobras applies to raise prices is also in the pattern. The debate takes place after a request from Deputy Luis Miranda, from the Republicans-DF. 

Deputy Luis Miranda highlights the consecutive increases in the price of gasoline in the country. In addition, the deputy also recalled that the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) registered the highest average price since the beginning of the historical series. “Some states register the price of fuel at R$ 8,00, as in the North region, according to an article published on Rede Brasil. It is absurd, it is a clear disrespect to the consumer who pays his taxes in days”, said Luis Miranda.

See the complete list of guests for the debate in the Chamber of Deputies 

– the president of the Fuel and Lubricants Retail Union of the Federal District, Paulo Roberto Correa Tavares; 

– the legal director of the Single Federation of Petroleum Workers, Mario Dal Zoot;

– the political adviser of the Institute of Socioeconomic Studies, Livi Gerbasi. 

Interested in follow and participate in the debate can do so via the internet.  

Fuel prices keep the Federal Government awake at night 

The high price of fuel is a problem that the federal government seeks to alleviate until the end of the year, when President Jair Bolsonaro's term ends. The government supporters' idea is to try to approve as many measures as possible to ease the price of gasoline and diesel for consumers by the end of the year. In addition, a proposal that provides more transparency to the way Petrobrás defines the price of gasoline is also being analyzed.  

Last week, the Chamber of Deputies approved a bill that limits the ICMS tax to 17% on fuel, electricity, telecommunications and public transport. “The most important thing is to give a response today to the Brazilian population, which can no longer bear this high cost, this anguish of seeing the family budget eroded every week precisely because of the price of two significant items: fuel and energy”, said Danilo Freite, author from the project. 

ICMS limitation causes controversy 

On the other hand, the approval of the bill that limits the ICMS is not well regarded by states and municipalities. According to the president of the National Committee of Finance Secretaries of the States and the Federal District (Comsefaz), states and municipalities could lose up to R$ 83 billion per year in revenue. Because of this, the states promise to present an alternative project. 

“We are going to present an alternative project to President Rodrigo Pacheco. One of the proposals under discussion is the application of the moving average of the last 60 months for the price of diesel to form the basis for calculating the ICMS”, said Délcio Padilha, president of Comsefaz.