“We are going to make Congress’ decision prevail”, says Pacheco about exemption

The president of the National Congress, senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), reported this Tuesday (6) that the decision of deputies and senators on the extension of the payroll tax exemption for 17 sectors should prevail. The announcement was made after he was questioned by senators in relation to the Provisional Refund Measure, published by President Lula’s government.

“I hope that during February, we can have a solution to this, making what was Congress’s decision prevail in relation to the exemption of the 17 sectors and the exemption of the Municipalities”, declared Pacheco in the plenary.

The president of the Senate highlighted that he maintained dialogue with the government during the month of January and that he has been looking for a solution. Instead of returning the measure, Pacheco mentioned that he expects the government to revoke the part that deals with exemptions in MP 1,202 and reinforced the “assurance that the exemption will be maintained”.

“The exemption will be a reality, both in the 17 sectors and in the Municipalities. Evidently, the government is not denied the right to re-discuss and, eventually, propose improvements to this institute and any other, but to do so through its own instrument, which is the bill, and not a provisional measure that already generates effects. immediately after its edition”, explained Pacheco.

Pacheco’s announcement was made on the same day that the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, would meet with party leaders in the Chamber of Deputies to discuss the economic agenda and seek a solution for the Re-encumbrance MP. However, the meeting was canceled after conflicts with President Arthur Lira (PP-AL).

Aiming to put pressure on the government and presidents Lira and Pacheco, around 17 parliamentary fronts released a manifesto demanding the return of the Provisional Measure that deals with the reimbursement of the payroll.

Senate leaders meet with Haddad

On the afternoon of this Tuesday (6), Haddad met with party leaders in the Senate and reaffirmed the government’s tendency to send a new text to Congress to deal with the exemption/re-encumbrance of companies’ payroll. However, the agreement still depends on President Lula’s approval. The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha.

“The final forwarding is that Minister Haddad will still submit it to the President of the Republic, but we have progressed a lot towards separating the issues relating to exemption/re-encumbrance from MP 1202/2023. There was, within the leadership, an agreement on the method for forwarding this nature”, said the government leader in Congress, senator Randolfe Rodrigues (no party-AP).

After the meeting, senator Efraim Filho (PB) recalled that the government’s decision to issue the MP after rejecting the veto generated discomfort among parliamentarians. According to him, the discussion during the meeting was “more about form than content”.

“The topic caused a lot of noise in the National Congress. It was clear at the meeting table that this topic was not being well received by Congress. The bill would be the best path as it presupposes dialogue, debate and votes. There was understanding of the minister,” he said.

With information from Agência Senado