Senate President defines rapporteur and processing of tax reform

The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), announced this Tuesday (11) that Senator Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM) will be the rapporteur of the tax reform project in the house. The decision was released shortly after a meeting in which ministers Fernando Haddad, of Finance; Simone Tebet, from Planning; and Alexandre Padilha, from Institutional Relations, as well as Randolfe Rodrigues (non-AP party), leader of the government in Congress.

Pacheco said that the project begins to be analyzed as soon as it is received by the Chamber of Deputies, and will only be processed by the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) before being taken to the plenary. The deputies approved the project, last week, with 382 votes in the first discussion and 375 in the second.

He also stated that the Senate has a “sense of urgency” for the need to reform the tax system and that the House “will take care of approving it in the coming months”. The expectation is that it will occur until the middle of the second semester.

Still according to the president of the Senate, there is no intention of “slicing” the project and that, after going through the CCJ, it will be fully discussed in the plenary of the Senate. There was an expectation behind the scenes that the text could be dismembered to be approved more quickly, which was denied by Rodrigo Pacheco.

“I said and I insist that now it is up to the Senate to fulfill its role to deliver a reform in the coming months. […] We have a lot of expectations, and we agree that adjustments can be made”, he added.

Soon after, Haddad thanked Pacheco for the “urgency” he has given and the parliamentarians “including the opposition” for approving the project, and said that the government is confident that the senators will approve all “matter coming from the Chamber, independently ” and aware that modifications can be made.

A little earlier, the minister said that the Senate “has the role of filing the text, which means making it rounder, lighter, with fewer exceptions”, and that senators need not worry about leaving a “brand” in the project.

“The Chamber of Deputies incorporated 60% of the [Proposta de Emenda à Constituição] PEC 110, from the Senate. The mark is already given, the PEC was incorporated by the rapporteur”, he added.

Government bills pending in the Senate

One of them, which resumes the “quality vote” to the Administrative Council of Tax Appeals (Carf), Haddad hopes it will be approved as soon as possible so that Simone Tebet “be able to formulate the budget piece for 2024”. The Budget must be submitted by the end of August.

“Thus, assuming in the play [orçamentária] all the commitments expressed by the president, such as maintaining a minimum level of investment, recomposition of the constitutional floor of health and education, and the primary result that we aim for next year, which will provide stability for many years to the Brazilian economy”, stated.

Haddad also thanked Pacheco’s commitment to advancing the Legal Framework for Guarantees, which has already been appreciated by both houses of Congress and now needs to be reanalyzed by the Chamber, after receiving modifications from the senators. “We will start the second semester with good initiatives and achievements as happened in the first semester”, completed the President of the Senate.

The minister also thanked Rodrigo Pacheco for unfiling the Insurance Law and already appointing Senator Jader Barbalho (MDB-PA) as rapporteur. According to him, the parliamentarian is committed to dialoguing with the sector and promoting “a great impulse” in this sector.