Minister of Finance called representatives of the Parliamentary Front; working group will be created after parliamentary recess
The Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, spoke this Thursday (18 January 2024) with the president of the Evangelical Parliamentary Front of the Senate, Carlos Viana (Podemos-MG), after the negative repercussion in the religious segment regarding the Federal Revenue Service's decision to annul the rule that gave tax exemption to religious leaders. It was agreed that the evangelical bench and representatives of the Ministry and the Federal Revenue will form a working group to discuss the possible resumption of the exemption.
According to Viana, the conversation with the minister was long and the negotiation will be proof that the Lula government does not want “persecuting the churches”. “Our expectation is that, with dialogue, the issue of exemption will be definitively resolved. In my opinion, it is the most transparent way for the Lula government to prove that it does not want to persecute the churches”, said the congressman in a note. Here's the complete (PDF – 209 kB).
The leader of the Parliamentary Front said that the group will be created after the return of Congress, which is in recess. Legislative work resumes on February 1st.
“We made an agreement that as soon as legislative work resumes, we will create a group of parliamentarians, representatives of the Ministry of Finance and Revenue so that we can sit down and definitively resolve this issue, making it transparent, including, to the entire country the positioning of the sides”said Viana.
On Friday (January 19, 2023), a group of pastors will meet with the Special Secretary of the Federal Revenue of Brazil, Robinson Barreirinhas, to open dialogue on the topic.
UNDERSTAND
The exemption for religious leaders came into effect on August 1, 2022, during the former president's government Jair Bolsonaro (PL). Read the full act below.
The measure was decreed two weeks before the start of the electoral campaign by the then Federal Revenue Secretary, Julio César Vieira Gomes. He was a civil servant at the agency and was fired after his involvement in the case of jewelry received by the former president as a gift from Saudi Arabia.
This Wednesday (January 17, 2024), the revocation was published on the GIVE (Official Diary of the Union). It is signed by the Tax Secretary, Robinson Barreirinhas. Here's the complete (PDF – 124 kB).
The Federal Revenue based the decision on a process from the Federal Court of Auditors about suspending the effectiveness of the rule.
TCU reacted. Informed through official note that the process that evaluates the effectiveness of the tax exemption for religious leaders is still under analysis and he denied having been responsible for the Tax Authority's decision that determined this change. Read an excerpt from the statement below:
“In relation to the information that the Federal Revenue of Brazil had suspended, by determination proposed by the Public Ministry with the TCU (MPTCU), the effectiveness of the Interpretative Declaratory Act RFB nº 1, of July 29, 2022, the Court of Auditors of The Union clarifies that the matter is the subject of analysis in process TC 018.933/2022-0, reported by Minister Aroldo Cedraz, with no decision yet from the TCU.”
Read the complete of the TCU statement (PDF – 103 kB).
The tax benefit was valid for the salary of “ministers of religious confession”, like pastors. The amounts paid by churches to religious leaders were not considered direct or indirect remuneration.
Here is the full act published by the Bolsonaro government:
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