08/31/2024 – 14:06
The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), ruled out this Saturday, 31, the increase in the rate of the Social Contribution on Net Income (CSLL), a tax levied on corporate profits, and the income tax withheld at source on Interest on Equity (JCP), a type of remuneration paid by companies to their shareholders.
“Discussion of JCP and CSLL to increase revenue to meet the target is unlikely, it is almost impossible,” he said in a panel held at Expert Week, in São Paulo. “Any project to increase taxes is very difficult to be approved,” he mentioned.
The bill submitted by the government to Congress this Friday raises the CSLL rate by 1 percentage point (pp) for companies and by 2 pp for financial institutions. It also increases the income tax rate withheld at source on JCP from 15% to 20%. The government expects to collect R$20.94 billion in 2025.
At Saturday’s event, Lira also ruled out any change to the primary result target of zero deficit. On the other hand, he criticized the government’s efforts to achieve the primary result target based on increased revenue.
“There is no such possibility (of changing the target); the minister himself would not propose such a change. The fiscal framework will be respected by Congress, I have no doubt,” he said. He points out that, in the rules of the law, regarding the established spending limit, there are triggers to be activated if the primary target is not met.
The Speaker of the House argued that the solution to ensure the sustainability of the fiscal framework in the long term is budget deindexation. He stressed that Congress must move forward with greater force in this discussion, which has already been discussed by the government’s economic team.
“The beginning of a strong discussion in Congress on budget delinking and deindexing is almost mandatory. Because the fiscal framework will not be exceeded under any circumstances,” he said.
The discussion about reducing mandatory indexed expenses involves the constitutional minimums for Health and Education, as well as the disconnection between INSS benefits and the readjustment of the minimum wage.
Union Budget
Lira also said that the Legislature has influence over the Federal Budget and declared that the correct thing, in his opinion, would be for parliamentarians to decide and give their opinion on amendments.
On Thursday, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) granted ten more days for Congress and the federal government to reach a final agreement to release mandatory amendments and the so-called “Pix amendments”.
“The first mistake is to think that the Union Budget belongs only to the Executive Branch,” he declared. “The most correct thing is for parliamentarians to decide and give their opinions on amendments.”
The extension of the deadline by the STF was announced after a meeting between ministers Luís Roberto Barroso and Flávio Dino, rapporteur of the actions on the amendments in the Court.
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