The Senate approved on Wednesday (25) the overthrow of three decrees of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) that increased the tax rate of Financial Operations (IOF), confirming the decision made earlier by the House of Representatives.
The measure represents a government defeat and forces the economic team to look for alternatives to compensate for an estimated loss of collection of $ 10 billion this year. According to the Ministry of Finance, without the highest IOF, new spending cuts will be needed to balance the public accounts and reach the zero deficit goal.
With the rejection of the decrees, Congress imposes, for the first time, the revocation of a tax increase made through a presidential decree. Even with partial setbacks at some points, the proposal faced strong resistance in the legislature.
The mayor, Hugo Motta (Republicans-PB), included the project on the agenda of Tuesday night (24) and accelerated the vote. The text was approved by 383 votes to 98 and, a few hours later, confirmed by the Senate.
“We know it is a defeat for the government, but it was built by several hands,” said Congress President David Alcolumbre (Union-AP). “This decree began badly. The government issued a decree that was quickly rejected by Brazilian society. We had several debates to try to reconcile the government’s interests with that of society,” he said.
Parliamentarians indicate that the decision reflects discontent with tax increases and the delay in the release of amendments, as well as criticism of the conduct of Fernando Haddad’s economic policy.
