The decision on cutting tax benefits is now in the hands of the National Congress, said this Tuesday (16) the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad. He highlighted that the government needs R$20 billion to balance next year’s Budget.
In an interview upon leaving the Ministry of Finance, Haddad stated that the government presented simulations and technical subsidies to make voting on the 2026 Budget possible without fiscal risks.
“We did some simulations for the rapporteur, and now the decision is with the National Congress, but the subsidies were delivered so that the account could be closed and the Budget could be voted on on Thursday”, stated Haddad after participating in a meeting of leaders in Congress this afternoon.
The main instrument defended by the Ministry of Finance to guarantee this collection is a project that provides for a 10% linear cut in infraconstitutional tax incentives. Benefits provided for in the Constitution, such as those granted to the Manaus Free Trade Zone, are left out of the proposal.
Parliamentarians, however, are negotiating an agreement to spread the reduction in benefits over three or four years. The strategy seeks to reduce resistance and allow the affected sectors to organize themselves, in addition to making it possible to vote on the text this Tuesday in the Chamber of Deputies.
Haddad highlighted that the calendar is tight and that approval needs to occur quickly to avoid problems in preparing the Budget.
“It would have to be approved today in the Chamber and tomorrow in the Senate. Because then the Budget rapporteur can close the budget piece calmly, without the risk of us having revenues that are in the Budget and have no source”, he said.
Bets and fintechs
This Tuesday, the leader of the MDB in the Chamber, deputy Isnaldo Bulhões Jr. (AL), confirmed that the articulation includes the incorporation of measures that had been left out or faced difficulties in the Senate, such as the taxation of sports betting (bets) and fintechs.
The Minister of Finance participated directly in the meeting of leaders in which the topic was discussed. According to Haddad, the economic team is awaiting the final version of the text to assess whether the government agrees with the proposal that will be put to a vote.
According to the minister, the initiative to discuss linear cuts in tax benefits came from Congress itself, following a request from the president of the Chamber, Hugo Motta, for the Treasury to present different scenarios of impact on public accounts.
