Haddad says that the Treasury is investigating irregularities at Perse

Minister Fernando Haddad, of Finance, confirmed on Wednesday night (7) that the government began an investigation into the Emergency Program for the Resumption of the Events Sector (Perse) to investigate possible irregularities related to the tax benefit. He stated that the exemption cost R$16 billion per year instead of the R$4 billion initially foreseen.

According to Haddad, the Federal Revenue’s intelligence sector is investigating irregularities and data on benefited taxpayers will be released soon. “How many days it will take, I cannot say,” she said.

The government issued a provisional measure at the end of December to bring forward the end of Perse. Congress had extended the program until 2026, but the MP promotes a gradual reduction in the tax benefit starting this year, ending in 2025. The government’s decision was criticized by parliamentarians and businesspeople, and the news that the Treasury is investigating irregularities are described as “blackmail” by oppositionists.

“This is not a witch hunt. Obviously, whoever made a mistake will be punished according to the law, but it is about showing that the program cannot have this dimension. This is very bad, because the country is not in a position to spend this money, in fact, waste this money”, said the minister.

Among the irregularities committed by some companies, according to the minister, is “simulating” another activity that is not the original one of the business to obtain the benefit. To do this, businesspeople change the so-called CNAE, which is the National Classification of Economic Activities, to adapt the business to the sectors foreseen in the events sector.

The data will be disclosed, according to Haddad, with the CNPJ of the companies that used the benefit. “We are going to make public how much each company failed to collect, claiming to be a beneficiary of the program”, he added.