Secretary of Revenue says it is difficult for rich people to pay taxes – 11/13/2023 – Market

The Federal Revenue Secretary, Robinson Barreirinhas, stated this Monday (13) that it is very difficult to make rich people pay taxes in Brazil and highlighted that he was talking about those who do not produce, people who “never worked” and live on income.

Speaking at the National Congress of Revenue Auditors, Barreirinhas defended the approval of government measures that correct rules considered distortive by the current administration and that, for him, promote tax justice.

“It’s very difficult to make the rich pay taxes, those who are better able to pay taxes,” he said.

“[Dizem] ‘but it’s the one who produces’. I’m not talking about those who produce, I’m talking about those who don’t produce, people who, often, have never worked in their lives, live on income and pay less tax than a teacher, what’s the justice in that?”, he stated.

Despite the government’s effort to increase revenue with measures that increase taxation on the richest segment of the population, the secretary said that “it’s not even a question of how much will be collected, it’s a question of justice”.

In Barreirinhas’ assessment, the spending ceiling, now replaced, by focusing on an expenditure limit, discouraged the government from seeking revenue measures while at the same time encouraging the creation of a series of tax exemptions, which had no impact on the rule. According to him, the government seeks to correct this course with its new fiscal framework.

Among the actions cited as priorities by the secretary is the measure that limits federal tax benefits originating from state incentives, an initiative that affects large companies. The text, which is being processed in Congress, is crucial to the economic team’s quest for a zero primary deficit, but is resisted by parliamentarians.