Government predicts resistance to approve tax reform on income

Minister Fernando Haddad, of Finance, announced last week that he intends to send the second part of the tax reform to Congress, the one that will affect the income and wealth of Brazilians, even before finishing the course of the current one, on consumption taxes. . And, he already foresees that it can be difficult to get through the parliamentarians according to what he wants.

Although details of how the second stage of the reform will be carried out have not yet been disclosed, Haddad has already given hints that it may tax higher gains, income abroad and possibly tax profits and dividends – currently exempt from taxation. According to him, the fiscal targets for the coming years depend on this stage along with the new fiscal framework, which will be discussed again by the deputies when they return from the parliamentary recess, in August.

“It is clear [que vai ter resistência]. But we will disclose the data. Do you think that a Brazilian who is rich, has a residence in Brazil and money abroad, does not have to pay for the income of a personal offshore fund? Why? What is the meaning”, he questioned in an interview published by the newspaper Folha de São Paulo this Tuesday (18).

According to him, Brazilians who today earn up to R$2,640 are exempt from paying income tax, but that just R$10 ends this exemption. And that, at the other end, millionaires are also exempt, criticizing what he calls “the inequality that exempts the richest 1% of the population”.

According to the minister, the approval or not of this stage of the tax reform will depend on Congress, which “will have the last word”. And he forwarded responsibility for future contingencies to parliamentarians who do not approve the project.

“When you are experiencing a boom cycle, there is something for everyone. Now it doesn’t. And its omission will mean one more hungry person. It is fair for me to cut the Bolsa Família minimum wage to maintain an exemption, I repeat, that does not exist anywhere else, except in a tax haven”, he questioned again.

Last week, when announcing the referral of this second stage of the tax reform to Congress even before finishing the first, Haddad said that he needs to approve it together with the Budget for next year, which will be sent together. “Because the budget piece will assume the approval of these measures by Congress. Otherwise, there will have to be budget constraints. So, it has to go together, ”he said.

The government has until the end of August to forward the 2024 Annual Budget Law Project (PLOA). been voted until last week, but it was postponed at the request of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).