The benefit will be for 38 members of Esplanada and 11 of Supremo to go to their home states; value can almost double ministers’ salaries
The government wishes to include in the 2024 Budget the payment of weekly air tickets for the 38 ministers of State at Esplanada and for the 11 magistrates of the Federal Supreme Court. It will not be necessary to justify the trip with a work commitment. In other words, these tickets can be used for the ministers’ leisure, using the tickets to return to their states of origin.
They can now use tickets funded by the Union in “strict interest of public service”. In practice, when there is a work schedule outside Brasília. An amendment to the LDO (Budget Guidelines Law) by the Government leader in Congress, Randolfe Rodrigues (without party-AP), however, allows this right to be expanded.
The concept of “strict interest of public service” is modified to: “In the strict interest of public service, including transportation between Brasília and the place of residence of origin of members of the Legislative Branch, ministers of the Federal Supreme Court and ministers of State”.
The possibility of creating this benefit had been anticipated by the Power360 on July 18, 2023. The idea of including the expense in the Budget – the amount is not yet known – came from the government, according to Senator Randolfe Rodrigues’ advisors. In other words, the proposal has the approval of the president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
A round-trip ticket to Brasília in some cases can cost from R$4,000 to R$5,000, depending on the destination and how far in advance the purchase is made. When you buy a ticket last minute, like most ministers, most tickets cost this higher price.
The salary of Lula’s 38 state ministers and the 11 STF ministers is R$41,650.92. According to Transparency PortalLula’s first echelon manages, in most months, to receive around R$38,000 net, including extra remuneration.
According to the Power360, one of the main complaints among ministers would be how much the tickets would be impacting politicians’ net salaries. A monthly expense that would represent around 50% of ministers’ income.
Those who did not yet have a career in politics or did not have large assets complained about the cost.
Now, with the proposed change, the scenario is reversed. In cases where a minister receives 4 tickets per month at a cost of R$5,000 for each one, You will have an increase of R$20,000 in your salary – an increase of almost 50%. No tax will be charged on this benefit.
The average salary of Brazilian workers, according to IBGE, was R$2,714 in 2022. In other words, those who have a job in Brazil earn, on average, just 6.5% of what State or Supreme ministers do.
The total value of weekly air ticket purchases for ministers and magistrates of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), in an estimate using market prices, would cost around R$ 2.6 million per year – this figure was calculated using the Anac official website (National Civil Aviation Agency).
The agency calculates the average ticket price. O Power360 used values recorded in the period from September 2022 to September 2023 (last available date). This is a small amount compared to the total of the General Budget of the Union, which in 2022 was R$4.7 trillion.
Still, granting this benefit with the tax payer’s money contrasts with the moment of economic hardship that the federal government is going through. The deficit in public accounts in 2023 is estimated at R$177 billion. For 2024, it is already known that there will also be a deficit and an increase in taxes to cover the lack of money.
The argument of Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, author of the proposal, is that ministers will only be offered what is already granted to deputies and senators – congressmen have a quota of money to spend on air tickets monthly, regardless of whether they travel for work. or for a walk. In 2022, they spent R$48 million on this type of expense.
Currently, to avoid spending part of their salary on tickets, ministers take advantage of official events to go to their states or hitchhike on Brazilian Air Force planes.
The prerogatives for the use of FAB flights by State authorities, with the exception of the President of the Republic, are described by the decree 10,267March 5, 2020. Here are the main points of the text:
- who can ask – the vice-president of the Republic, the ministers of State and the presidents of the Senate, the Chamber and the Federal Supreme Court (other ministers of the STF it does not have this prerogative), in addition to the commanders of the Armed Forces and the chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces.
- justification – trips must be for work, safety or medical reasons;
- escorts – the entourage must have “strict connection” with the official commitments of ministers.
There are, however, loopholes within the decree that end up allowing greater liberality in inviting companions:
- “idle” vacancies – filling the seats that “left over” it is at the discretion of the minister who requested the flight;
- Defense – the Minister of Defense “may authorize air transport from other authorities”. In other words, you can request a flight that is not for yourself. In these cases, FAB records come with identification “available to the Ministry of Defense”.
The government, according to the Power360thinks that the cost for a jet to take off is high and sees an advantage in avoiding this type of expense, providing money for the purchase of airline tickets on career flights.
#Lula #STF #ministers #win #weekly #plane #tickets