Government wants to reinsert “Lula amendment” in tax reform in the Senate

The Planalto Palace will articulate with the Senate to reinsert in the tax reform the section that provides for the granting of tax incentives for automakers in the Northeast and Midwest. The excerpt was removed from the text of the reform due to a highlight presented by the PL bench in the Chamber, the party of former president Jair Bolsonaro, which irritated president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

The amendment had been accepted by the rapporteur for the reform in the Chamber, deputy Aguinaldo Ribeiro (PP-PB), on the eve of the vote and was now called the “Lula amendment”, which increased the mobilization of opposition parliamentarians for it to be overthrow. Because it was a deletion of the text, the government had to secure the support of 308 deputies to keep the article within the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC). The score reached only 307 votes – that is, the defeat was given by just one vote.

Last week, during a meeting with party leaders at the Alvorada Palace, Lula thanked the article for approval, but regretted the deletion of that specific section. To the parliamentarians, the PT member indicated that he intends to work so that the text of the reform is reestablished in the Senate process and promised to demand, including from the PT bench, more effort on this specific point.

The inclusion of tax incentives for automakers is seen as essential by Lula’s allies for the Chinese company Beyond Your Dreams (BYD) to install its factory in the city of Camaçari in Bahia. BYD has already announced that it intends to invest BRL 3 billion to establish itself in Brazil, but so far only the protocol of intentions has been signed between the Chinese company and the Brazilian government.