04/07/2024 – 7:53
The Parliamentary Front for Agriculture (FPA) has complained that it is being blamed for the impact that the eventual inclusion of meat in the basic food basket with zero tax will have on the average rate of Value Added Tax (VAT). The discussion is taking place within the scope of the regulation of tax reform.
In a closed meeting of the PP bench this Wednesday, the 3rd, the president of the agro bench, deputy Pedro Lupion (PP-PR), said that the sector’s demands need to be met and defended that the exemption of taxes for animal proteins is not to benefit the producer, but rather the population that consumes the food.
“To blame us for the fact that 0.58 (percentage point increase) in the tax rate will be responsible because ruralists want to include meat (in the basic food basket), sorry, we will not accept that under any circumstances,” said Lupion to his fellow party members.
The FPA leader’s complaint came after the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), stated this Wednesday that exempting meat from taxes, as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also advocates, could leave a “heavy price” on tax reform.
“There is no controversy regarding meat. Protein has never been included in the basic food basket. If it is included, we will have to see how much this inclusion represents in the tax rate that everyone will pay,” Lira told reporters late in the afternoon. “All the conversations are about analyzing each item, each request, what is important. Protein, meat alone accounts for almost 0.57 (percentage points) of the tax rate. I think it is a heavy price for all Brazilians,” added the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.
The proposed tax reform regulation submitted by the economic team to Congress does not include any type of meat in the basic food basket. According to the bill, meats were included in the reduced tax rate, with a 60% discount. Some items considered luxury items, such as salmon, roe and foie gras, will pay the full tax rate, projected by the Treasury Department at 26.5%.
“This rate was never 26%, not even in the optimistic dream. ‘The rate will go above 27% because the ruralists wanted meat (in the basic food basket), that is not true’”, said Lupion, at the PP meeting.
The expectation is that the report of the working group that analyzes the main text of the regulation will be released this Thursday, the 4th, without providing for exemption for meat, but negotiations will continue in the coming days.
“We are not crazy, reckless or irresponsible. We are defending an economic sector, we are defending the survival of an entire sector that represents practically a third of our economy and that cannot be burdened by a tax reform that is supposed to be positive for everyone,” said Lupion.
The president of the FPA also complained that the sector had not participated in discussions at the Ministry of Finance about the regulation of the reform, highlighted that the parliamentary fronts of Congress had to create parallel working groups and said that the complementary bills sent by the government were “completely contrary” to what had been agreed with the sector.
“I went to speak to President Arthur Lira and said: ‘Lira, President, who is the FPA representative in the working group?’. He replied to me: ‘I know the agreements you made, I know what you sought, I know what the concern is and you should deal with me to ensure that the terms are met in relation to the agricultural sector’”, reported Lupion.
Although the Treasury Department has submitted a bill to regulate the exclusion of meat from the basic food basket, Lula has been saying in recent days that he is in favor of exemption for more popular animal proteins. This Wednesday, at the launch of the 2024/2025 Harvest Plan, he stated that he would “be happy if I could buy meat without tax.” “We have to discuss what will be included in the basic food basket. There is no way to separate meat (by cuts); we will probably have to separate fresh and processed meat,” declared the PT member.
“We have to understand what the priorities are. I think the most important thing in this sense is to maintain and increase cashback for people on CadÚnico, in relation to essential services, which generates a much greater effect than including meat, for example, in the basic food basket,” said Lira.
PT deputies have advocated increasing cashback for low-income people. The system provides for the return of part of the taxes paid by families with a monthly income of up to half the minimum wage.
At the PP meeting, Lupion argued that exemption for food in the basic food basket is better than cashback. “Our position has always been completely different from this cashback utopia, which does not work and will never work in Brazil,” he said.
#accept #throw #backs #Lupion #impact #meat #exemption