The Finance Secretaries of state governments called for the implementation of urgent economic measures to face the crisis resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, in a letter released after the government announced a package to combat the impacts of the virus.
The letter, launched by the Committee of State Finance Secretaries (Comsefaz), was signed by the 27 state finance secretaries, and warns of the strong impact of the new coronavirus crisis on state finances.
The States' proposals include a request for the emergency release of more resources for the State Health Departments; emergency release of free resources, to reinforce the financial capacity of States; and suspension of amortization and interest payments on debts owed to the Union and public banks, as well as credit operations backed by the Union, for 12 months, postponing the amortization deadlines for credit operations covered by the same period.
The States also request, among other things, the immediate approval of the measures contained in the so-called Mansueto Plan, such as the release of limits and conditions for contracting new credit operations and BNDES credit lines for the States.
The Ministry of Economy announced on Monday a package of 147.3 billion reais aimed at combating the effects of the coronavirus with measures that include the anticipation of mandatory payments, relocation of expenses and extension of tax collection.
But many of them depend on the approval of Congress and still need to be formatted by the economic team into bills or provisional measures, at a time when parliamentarians are still discussing the normal continuation of work amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Source: Notícias Agrícolas
