Finance Minister Fernando Haddad.| Photo: André Borges/EFE.

The Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, said this Wednesday (31) that tax legislation in Brazil is a “patchwork quilt”, which makes the country’s tax system “one of the worst, if not the worst in the world” . He also criticized lobbying around passing tax laws. “Often, a law is approved in a confused way on purpose because of a lobby that will continuously act in the Judiciary to say that the correct thesis is his”, he said.

He spoke at the opening table of the 7th Congress of Tax Litigation, which takes place this week in Brasília, informed Agência Brasil. The event is organized by the Attorney General of the National Treasury (PGFN), a body formed by public lawyers that acts precisely in government actions related to the collection of taxes and debts owed to the Union.

“You know that federal revenue has suffered many defeats, not only in the National Congress, with absolutely chaotic exemptions, but also in the courts. The PGFN is the architect of the recovery of the State’s tax base”, the minister told prosecutors.

Data calculated by the National Association of Tax Auditors of the Federal Revenue Service of Brazil (Unafisco) indicate that, by the end of the year, the federal government should stop collecting R$ 440.5 billion due to the granting of so-called “tax privileges”. The amount is the sum of all benefits and tax incentives granted by the Union to specific portions of taxpayers and is included in a study published by the entity on Tuesday (30).