By Richard Mann, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Twelve IT companies have recently threatened to leave Curitiba because of taxes on services (ISS) of five percent. City Hall is now responding and wants to lower taxes.
“We have companies in Curitiba that are a reference in Brazil and in the World. It would be a great loss if they moved to other, more attractive cities like Joinville, Recife, Florianópolis, or Brasília, which have a two percent tax rate for the IT sector,” says Lucas Ribeiro, vice president of Communication and Marketing at Assesspro-Paraná, a non-profit entity that represents the technology and innovation sector in the state. IT companies in Curitiba earn over R$ 1 billion.
To solve the problem, the state capital has reactivated “Curitiba Tecnoparque,” a program that offers technology-based companies a considerable discount on ISS. By presenting a project for technical analysis, they can, in certain cases, even be tax exempt.