Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Tuesday that he believes in an agreement to Approval of Provisional Measure (MP) related to the elevation of the financial operations tax (IOF), which provides for measures to increase the collection and mandatory spending cut. If the text is not voted until this Wednesday (8), it will lose its validity.
“We have room to negotiate,” Haddad said in an interview with the program Good morning, ministerfrom GOV. “No one is naive to the point of imagining that the law sent to the National Congress will be approved without amendments,” he said.
“So far, I am confident that we will arrive in an equation that meets the government’s priorities, from the point of view of leaving a proper budget for next year. Ah, may be surprised? I have been surprised on other occasions and we were able to overcome the challenges that were placed looking for alternatives. Sometimes you are surprised, but I do not know if it will be the case now.
In late May, the government announced a blockade and contingency of about $ 30 billion to reach the target defined by the tax framework. In addition, a decree on IOF was issued for credit, insurance and exchange rate operations, which provided for over $ 20 billion this year.
>> Understand how the IOF is after overthrowing decree
The measure suffered Criticism of the Financial Market and the National Congressthat the tax package would not promote spending cut, which led the government to negotiate an alternative MP to the IOF decree. Without it, the Executive would have to contain more federal spending, which would further impact the operation of the public machine, also reaching the parliamentary amendments of deputies and senators.
The alternative text was Published and June 11 and needs to be voted in 120 days. However, there is still resistance in Congress with sectors contrary to the expected taxes.
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THE MP sent by the government predicts, among others:
- Hardening of criteria to request tax compensation, which are requests for more paid tax discounts in the production chain;
- Elevation from 15% to 20% of income tax with interest on interest on equity (JCP), which are a type of compensation that company pays to shareholders;
- Elevation from 12% to 18% tax on BETS revenues (electronic betting companies);
- Elevation of social contribution on net income (CSLL) on fintechs from 9% to 15%; and
- End of income tax exemption for encouraged private securities (LCI, LCA, CRI, CRA and encouraged debentures).
About resistance to the text, Minister Fernando Haddad recalled that it is difficult to cut tax privilege in Brazil. “It’s hard, because people come here [para a imprensa] And they begin to insist that the world will end. And the privileges, to be cut, require a lot of tenacity, a lot of determination, especially from the economic area, ”he said.
“What we are doing is showing that it has tax privileges that no longer make sense. And when a tax privilege makes no sense, it has to be cut. Because it is missing someone who is needing more than that entrepreneur,” he said.
IR exemption
During the interview, Haddad also Celebrated the approval of income tax exemption (IR) for individuals With monthly income of up to $ 5,000 and discount for those who earn up to $ 7,350 per month. The vote in the Chamber of Deputies, on the last day 1 had 493 votes favorable and no opposite.
“It was very difficult to find a breach to criticize,” said the minister, praising the text, which, according to him, was prepared for almost 1 year by the team of the Ministry of Finance. “She [a reforma] He began to be praised at all four corners, by people who have very different ideological positions, and who saw in this idea a virtue that it was beginning to put their finger in a serious problem in Brazil, which is the problem of inequality. So that score, stop being very honest, didn’t even surprise me, ”he said.
“The idea that everyone who has a significant income pay the minimum income tax and that this collection is used to exempt, dishonor, who earns up to $ 5,000 and decrease the tax of those who earn up to $ 7,300, this idea really, it was very innovative,” he added.
The minister is expecting that the text will also be approved in October in the Senate so that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva delivered “his main campaign promise”.
Regarding the possibility of increasing the exemption range for those who earn up to R $ 10,000, which is being debated in Congress, Haddad explained that, for this, fiscal legislation determines that a new source of resources be indicated.
“Deputy Arthur Lira, [relator do projeto] There in the House, he declared harmed the amendments that did not indicate the source of expansion of the benefit. Then the rapporteur in the Senate, if he wants to follow the law, will have to remove the amendments that want to give a greater benefit without indicating a source, ”he explained.
“Now, if the amendment indicates the source, let’s assume that, instead of a minimum tax of 10%, he wants to set a minimum tax of 15%, he will have room to expand the exemption range. But it has to be a coherent proposal, because Brazil is also a little tired of populism,” added the minister.
