Lawyer says Palmas has already lost R$ 1,1 million due to alleged property tax fraud.
According to Felipe Monnerat, the amount that CVI charged when participating in the bidding process held by the city hall to create the Capital's Property Valuation Plan is R$ 1,1 million. "This money was paid by Saneatins. If the agreement with the city hall foresees the execution of works by Saneatins in Palmas, this R$ 1,1 million has already been paid. Palmas lost R$ 1,1 million in legitimate works that could have been carried out by Saneatins," he stated.
Tocantins 247 – The lawyer who filed the class action lawsuit on behalf of state representative Luana Ribeiro (PR) to annul the administrative acts of the Palmas City Hall that led to the readjustment of the Urban Property Tax (IPTU) in the capital, Felipe Monnerat, stated this Wednesday, the 29th, to Tocantins 247 that these actions have already resulted in losses of R$ 1,1 million for the city of Palmas.
According to the lawyer, the agreement signed between Foz Saneatins and the Municipality of Palmas, through which Saneatins contracted the Tocantins Real Estate Valuation Commission (CVI) to conduct a study of the Generic Value Map of land and buildings in the capital and passed this information on to the municipality, is illegal. "The agreement is illegal because the CVI was prevented from providing services to the municipality for not meeting all the requirements of the Bidding Law. Even though it was paid for by Saneatins, the service was provided by the CVI to the municipality, which is illegal. There was a bias in the contracting of the CVI, and the Bidding Law prohibits this," he stated.
According to Monnerat, the amount that CVI charged when participating in the bidding process held by the City Hall to create the Capital's Property Valuation Plan is R$ 1,1 million. "This money was paid by Saneatins. If the agreement with the city hall foresees the execution of works by Saneatins in Palmas, this R$ 1,1 million has already been paid. Palmas lost R$ 1,1 million in legitimate works that could have been carried out by Saneatins," he stated.
The publicity surrounding the controversial agreement, and even Saneatins' interest in possessing a study on the values of properties and buildings in Palmas, are being questioned by congresswoman Luana Ribeiro through her lawyer. "The information we have is that the agreement was never published in the Official Gazette of the Municipality. If it wasn't published, it's not valid. And what interest would Saneatins have in having a property value map? It's a private company that aims solely for profit," questioned the lawyer.
Regarding the decision by Judge Flávia Afini Bovo, of the 4th Court of Public Finance and Records, which overturned the determination by the city hall's bidding committee that disqualified the company Souza & Paiva from the bidding process for the valuation plan, lawyer Felipe Monnerat said that the judge did not demonstrate interest in expediting the matter. "If the agreement exists and should be public, why did the judge need to give the city hall 20 days to deliver this agreement? The judge could have given the city hall a maximum of 24 hours to present this document," he stated.
The Municipality of Palmas has defended the legality of the method by which it obtained the General Property Valuation Plan for Palmas. Tocantins 247Mayor Carlos Amastha (PP) said that if he had been invited, he himself would have presented the agreement with Saneatins to congresswoman Luana Ribeiro (read here).
Read more about the controversy surrounding the increase in Palmas' property tax (IPTU):
Congresswoman denounces fraud that led to an increase in property tax in the capital.
Saneatins paid for a study that led to an increase in property tax.
Luana says that a statement from the city hall confirms property tax fraud.