Tax incentives as an instrument of environmental policy: an analysis of the Green IPTU on municipalities of Minas Gerais

Abstract

The Green IPTU is an urban policy that aims to encourage the development of environmentally sustainable actions. In order to know the application of this instrument, in this work we analyzed the legislation of the Green IPTU on the municipalities of Minas Gerais with more than 500 thousand inhabitants: Belo Horizonte, Uberlândia, Contagem and Juiz de Fora. From the analysis of these legislations regarding to objectives, criteria and benefits, it was observed that Belo Horizonte is the only municipality whose objective of the Green IPTU is aimed only at the conservation of native biota. Regarding to the requirements and form of assessment, similarities were found in the laws of Belo Horizonte and Uberlândia, for the protection of native flora, and in the laws of Juiz de Fora and Contagem, for the adoption of sustainable actions and practices. In the analyzed legislation, the benefit occurs through fiscal exemption or discount in the IPTU, with larger discounts directed to a more intense protection of the flora. Although Belo Horizonte is more populous than Uberlândia, it has a smaller number of beneficiaries, which may be associated with the criteria established in its law. In addition, it was noted that the objectives, criteria and benefits of the Green IPTU changed according to the interests of the municipalities and there are no guidelines for the elaboration of this public policy.

Keywords:
Tax benefit; Sustainability; Urban environment; Quality of life