The Special Secretary of the Treasury and Budget of the Ministry of Economy, Esteves Colnago, said today (25) that the government should set the value of Aid Brazil in the 2023 Budget at R$ 400. According to the secretary, the team’s understanding economic is that the legislation does not require the payment of the additional R$ 200. The additional amount was defined in the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) of Social Benefits and will be paid until December 2022.
“Today, our understanding is that the legal framework would not bring us an obligation or a need to place [o Auxílio Brasil] in PLOA [Projeto de lei Orçamentária Anual] to 2023”, said the secretary.
The Social Benefits PEC generates R$ 41.2 billion in exceptional expenses, that is, outside the spending ceiling, divided between social benefits. The measures are valid from August 1 to December 31, 2022.
The secretary also said that the value would have to adapt to the spending ceiling, a rule that limits the growth of public expenditure to inflation and forces spending cuts. According to him, discretionary (non-mandatory) expenses are around R$120 billion to R$130 billion a year and the increase in the benefit would lead to a cut in these expenses, reducing them to R$70 billion. “It is a considerable challenge for us to be able to maintain [o auxílio em R$ 600]”, he highlighted.
Report
Colnago participated in a press conference, this Monday, to detail the report on the Evaluation of Primary Income and Expenses for the 3rd bimester, which defined the blocking of over BRL 6.7 billion of non-mandatory expenditures from this year’s General Budget of the Union.
According to the report, the total need to block the 2022 Budget rose from R$9.96 billion in the second quarter to R$12.736 billion in the third quarter. As the government still had BRL 5.997 billion blocked, the value of the new block was BRL 6.739 billion, defined in the report.
The projection for primary expenditures in 2022 increased by BRL 45.819 billion, expected to close the year at BRL 1.834 trillion. The estimate for mandatory spending rose to R$ 1.679 trillion, R$ 46.746 billion higher than projected in May. However, the Executive Branch’s discretionary spending forecast was reduced by R$927 million, to R$154.246 billion. This resulted in a total variation of R$ 45.819 billion.
Regarding the forecast of the result for the primary deficit, the report reduced the estimate of the primary deficit for this year from R$ 65.490 billion to R$ 59.354 billion. The primary deficit represents the negative result of government accounts before the payment of interest on the public debt. The amount approved in the 2022 Budget Guidelines Law stipulates a primary deficit target of BRL 170.474 billion for the Central Government (National Treasury, Social Security and Central Bank).
The secretary said that the Central Government’s accounts are expected to close the year with a small or even positive deficit. According to him, the balance should be explained, in large part, by the growth in tax collection, despite the exemptions granted, especially for fuel.
“We are heading towards reaching the end of the year with a very low deficit or a surplus, albeit small, from the Central Government, which added to the states and municipalities, there will be a consolidated surplus, not so big, but positive”, he said.
