Federal Government Claims It Aims to Eliminate Diesel Tax Starting Next Year

Federal Government Studies The Possibility Of Zeroing The Diesel Tax Again Starting In January 2022. Bolsonaro Says He Will Strive For This, But Unfortunately Cannot Promise If It Will Happen

The Federal Government, in yet another gesture to truck drivers, reaffirmed this Friday (6) that it plans to eliminate the federal tax on diesel starting at the beginning of next year. In a discussion with supporters at the exit of the Palácio da Alvorada, Bolsonaro recorded a video, at the request of one of them, addressing the category. In the video, the president states that there are studies by the Federal Government to reduce taxes on diesel starting in January of next year.

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Federal Government Speaks Out On The Diesel Tax Issue

President Jair Bolsonaro claims to be aware that fuel is expensive and it is necessary to seek ways to reduce it as much as possible, and emphasized that he does not promise, but that he would like to eliminate the diesel tax next year.

“I will strive, but unfortunately cannot promise, it is just a study,” said Bolsonaro. The video, which was published by a government-supporting channel, also shows another comment from the president on the subject made with supporters on Wednesday. At the event, the president states that there are chances to zero taxes starting in January.

Federal Government Tries To Approve Change in ICMS Charging

Bolsonaro reiterated that after the Federal Government reduced the tax at the beginning of the year, state governments raised the ICMS, causing diesel and other fuels to maintain the same prices.

The Federal Government is studying to approve in Congress a change in the way the tax is charged, which unsettles governors. According to the president, it is not easy to resolve, the tax was zeroed for two months and “more than 2 billion reais thrown away,” the president pointed out. “The financial difficulties of various states are acknowledged, but it is necessary to favor the people, who sustain and maintain both the state and the federal government,” said Jair Messias in a press conference to UOL.

The president is trying to appease truck drivers, who threaten new protests and strikes, especially regarding fuel prices. The last attempts for a unified movement, like the one that paralyzed the entire country in 2018, did not go forward, but it is still a feared fact by the Palácio do Planalto.

Diesel Rises 5% After Taxes Are Reinstated

In May, in the first week after the tax on diesel returned, the price rose by 5%. Prices surpassed those of 2018, during the truck drivers’ strike, when drivers outraged with the cost of fuel and freight paralyzed cargo transport for about ten days.

By government decision, in the months of April and March of this year, the COFINS and PIS were zeroed, and due to the federal government not renewing the exemption, the charges returned to previous levels of R$ 0.33 per liter in May.

According to the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), in the week ending May 1, diesel cost R$ 4.20 per liter. A week later, on the 8th, the average diesel price was R$ 4.41 per liter, a 5% increase.