Modeling of the new fiscal framework that will replace the spending ceiling will be completed this week, said the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad. The proposal will be forwarded to the other ministries of the economic area and to the Planalto Palace.
“We are going to finish the work this week [da nova regra fiscal] in the farm. Then we will have a position of the Treasury that we will share with the economic area and inform the president [Lula]because this month we want our opinion on how the new fiscal framework should be made public”, declared Haddad upon arriving at the ministry after a meeting with the Minister of Civil Affairs, Rui Costa.
In a recent lecture given to an investment bank, Haddad said he intends to anticipate sending the new fiscal milestone for March. The Constitutional Amendment of the Transition, which released BRL 145 billion from the Bolsa Família spending ceiling and up to BRL 23 billion in investments if there is excess revenue, established the obligation for the government to submit a complementary bill to replace the ceiling of expenses until August.
LDO
According to Haddad, the anticipation of the new fiscal milestone is important to allow time for the Ministry of Planning to prepare the proposal for the 2024 Budgetary Guidelines Law (LDO) within the new rules. Law that establishes economic parameters and guides the preparation of the Budget for the following year, the LDO must be sent to Congress by April 15th.
The minister added that the anticipation of the fiscal framework will also help Congress to avoid redoing the LDO, in case the new fiscal anchor is sent later. According to Haddad, the government intends that the two projects, the LDO and the fiscal anchor, be processed together in Parliament.
“If Congress approves an LDO and a discordant, discrepant fiscal framework, it will have the rework of reassessing the LDO. So it doesn’t make sense. What Congress has to do is pass a coherent LDO and framework. We are going to put together two coherent pieces and Congress has to harmonize”, explained the minister.
Minimum wage and stakes
Regarding the readjustment of the minimum wage to R$ 1,320, scheduled for May, the minister said that the resources will come from the reallocation of funds that are not being used in other areas of the government. He did not specify the source of funds, but part of the money could come from saving resources with the re-registration he intends to fight fraud in the Bolsa Familia.
Regarding the online betting fee, announced this Wednesday (1st) by the minister to compensate for the correction of the Income Tax table, the minister said that the matter should be instituted by means of a new law. This is because, in the minister’s assessment, the regulation of the current law, from 2020, “does not serve the necessary purposes”.
dismissal of auditor
The minister also promised rigor in the case of former general coordinator of Research and Investigation at the Federal Revenue, Ricardo Pereira Feitosa. He is accused of improperly accessing confidential data from opponents of former President Jair Bolsonaro in 2019 and was acquitted by an internal process by the Federal Revenue Service in the same year.
“Violation of tax secrecy cannot happen at the Revenue”, said the minister. He said he learned about the case through the press, but informed that the administrative process is in the final stage and that he will decide on the dismissal of the civil servant in the coming weeks. Despite saying that the tax auditor will have the right to a defense and that respect for the legal process will be complied with, Haddad stressed that he will be demanding. “But I will be very strict,” he declared.
