The Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, stated this Wednesday, 27th, that the government’s primary result will be decided by the National Congress. According to him, achieving the zero deficit target will depend on the approval of laws that were forwarded by the Executive Branch last year and are being processed in the Legislature.
“Nowadays, the person who has the last word on the budget is the National Congress. In the past, the Executive had veto power, a series of instruments at its disposal that allowed it to conduct the economy almost exclusively. Today it is not like that. Today Congress has a lot of strength. Today a presidential veto is overturned very naturally, as happened at the end of last year. It is a co-responsibility for the result”, said Haddad in an interview with Radio Itatiaia.
The minister reinforced that the Executive and Legislative branches need to “join hands” in favor of “tidying up” public accounts. Congress is focusing on projects sent by the team that seek to reduce tax exemptions, such as the issue of payroll tax relief for the 17 sectors, the reduction of municipalities’ social security contributions and the reformulation of the Events Sector Emergency Resumption Program (Perse). The Legislature also needs to appreciate President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s veto of the R$5.6 billion approved in commission amendments.
Regarding the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) that expands the tax immunity of religious entities, Haddad said that the text was adjusted with the Ministry of Finance and was “very well” received by all parties. The matter was approved by a special committee of the Chamber, but still needs to be voted on in plenary.
