Rio projects the creation of 115,000 jobs with a new “economic freedom law”

The city hall of Rio de Janeiro sanctioned and published this Tuesday (21), in the Official Gazette of the Municipality, a new “Economic Freedom Law”, which aims to make the business environment less bureaucratic by extinguishing the need to obtain economic permits for activities classified as low risk.

According to city government projections, the measure should result in the creation of 115 thousand jobs in up to ten years. In the same period, the estimate is to increase the START (Gross Domestic Product) per capita in up to R$ 4 thousand.

According to the municipality, the initiative will benefit around 280 activities, such as hairdressers, locksmiths, seamstresses and small businesses. These segments were used as an example, but the initiative is not even valid for them yet. To enter into force, it depends on a decree from the mayor Eduardo Pais (PSD) to specify the beneficiary categories.

For the municipal secretary for Economic Development, Innovation and Simplification, Chicão Bulhões, the new law corrects an urban problem in the city, which would have direct implications for economic dynamics.

“The law basically eliminates the economic activity permit and makes the city’s zoning flexible for low-risk activities. The mayor gave the example of the person who opened a small, low-risk craft business in his garage and was unable to exercise because of this 1976 zoning and became. Almost half of the city today is in informal work. So this is an effort to bring people to formality”, says Bulhões.

For the activities that will be listed in a subsequent decree, a registration with the Municipal Finance and Planning Department, made via the internet, will be enough to collect taxes.

Paes also highlighted that the measure would have an impact on fighting corruption, by eliminating intermediaries that would participate in all stages of the process of formalizing a business in the city.

“The law has a fundamental role in something that is a concern of Brazilians: corruption. Every crook and corrupt country has a characteristic, which is to be excessively bureaucratic. This initiative is very important, as we are avoiding many middlemen, people who want to indulge themselves. And it comes as part of a set of initiatives that seek to enable something that is perhaps the great need of the country and the city: employment”, he says.

According to the General Register of Employed and Unemployed (Caged) do Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro has a balance of 64 thousand jobs until October 2021. This number is the difference between admissions and dismissals. The monthly series remains positive for eight consecutive months. That is, since March of this year.