PORTO ALEGRE
tHE CItY's potEntIal
The strengths of Porto Alegre are some of the most valued
by entrepreneurs: low taxes, financing and skilled labor. For
those who choose the National Simples as their businesses
tax regime, the Rio Grande do Sul offers ICMS exemption
for companies with revenue up to R$ 360,000 and re-
duced rates for those with revenues under R$ 3.6 million.
The city itself also offers reduced ISS rates, from 5% to
2%, for specific sectors, such as information technology,
call centers, consulting and higher education services in
the area of technology.
Porto Alegre is also a stronghold of good universities.
About 50% of the students studying in institutions
with highly rated courses by ENADE, as are many of
UFRGS, University of Technology of Porto Alegre and PUC-
RS. Good universities are not only responsible for provi-
ding quality labor, as well as applied research, which in 2011
and 2012 helped generate more than 900 patents in the
state, the third highest number in the country.
Finally, access to credit also doesn't seems to be a problem
for entrepreneurs in the city. Local banks moved over R$
600 billion in loans, equivalent to almost 14 times the GDP
of the state capital. In addition, the money saved in Porto
Alegre, over R$ 32,000 per capita, is the highest average
in the country and can mean good sources of investment
especially for new businesses.
Porto Alegre's state had more
than 900 patents in the last
couple of years, the third high-
est rate in the country
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