Project that expands funding sources for infrastructure has been stalled for 2 years
“Brazil produces very well, but when you leave the so-called ‘gate outside’, the road is bad, there is no railway, the port is bad and we don’t have public money to build this infrastructure. We approved it in the Chamber, with 411 votes, infrastructure debentures, that is, the private sector being able to issue debentures to make investments. It has been stalled in the Senate for 2 years”, criticized Maia.
Debentures are debt securities that companies issue to raise funds from investors. They function as a source of funding. Among the various types of debentures, there are incentivized ones that, according to the law, are related to the infrastructure sector.
A concessionaire that wants to duplicate a highway under its administration, for example, can issue debentures to finance that investment. As this is an improvement that impacts the lives of the population, the government exempts from Income Tax the profits of individuals who buy these bonds. In the case of legal entities, taxation does not zero, but decreases. It is a way to encourage improvements in roads, railways, ports and airports.
The PL approved by the Chamber tries to attract more investments to the sector. But instead of directing tax incentives to investors (people and companies that buy the debentures), the proposal targets companies that need financing for infrastructure projects.
According to the proposal, they could deduct from the calculation basis of the Corporate Income Tax (IRPJ) and the Social Contribution on Net Income (CSLL) the interest paid to investors upon the maturity of the debentures. With this, they could, in theory, issue debentures that guarantee greater returns to investors.
Importance of debentures
MoveInfra’s CEO, Natália Marcassa, former Secretary of Development, Planning and Partnerships at the Ministry of Infrastructure, highlighted that the country needs to guarantee better financing conditions for the sector, which works with long-term projects. She recalled that the infrastructure debentures bill will expand the range of financers for the activity.
“How can we bring more private capital to invest in infrastructure? The new series will allow us to access other pockets, such as pension funds, which today we do not access. House with infrastructure, because it is long-term, they are 30 years, and we manage to combine these sources of funding for our infrastructure resources.”
The Minister of Transport, Renan Filho, also participated in the debate. He pointed out that the country needs to increase public investment in the sector to reduce the infrastructure deficit. According to Renan, there is a direct correlation between the increase in public investment and the growth of private investment. The minister said that the bill of infrastructure debentures and the legal framework for guarantees (PL 4188/2021) are two important tools for attracting private capital.
Infrastructure: incentivized debenture issues reach BRL 40 billion in 2022
By Brasil 61
