IMPACTS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON SERVICE TAX COLLECTION IN THE LARGEST MUNICIPALITIES OF THE STATE OF RIO DE JANEIRO

The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in March 2020, has widely impacted several sectors of society, including the management of municipal public revenues. This study aimed to analyze the effects of the pandemic on the collection of Service Tax (ISS) in the five municipalities with the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the state of Rio de Janeiro: Rio de Janeiro, Duque de Caxias, Niterói, Maricá and São Gonçalo, from 2017 to 2022. To this end, a quantitative approach was used, collecting secondary data extracted from the Transparency Portals of the respective municipalities, in order to compare revenues collected before, during and after the pandemic. The methodology included the use of descriptive statistics to carry out a comparative analysis of the evolution of ISS collection, both in aggregate and individually by municipality. The results demonstrated that ISS collection suffered a significant drop during the pandemic period in most municipalities, followed by an accelerated recovery in subsequent years. In terms of the percentage share of the ISS in total budget revenue, there were considerable variations, with emphasis on the increase in this share in 2022, despite the decrease in global revenues. It was concluded that the pandemic affected the analyzed municipalities differently, with some experiencing rapid recovery of their ISS revenues, while others showed greater volatility, reflecting the different economic and fiscal contexts of each location.