President of the Senate states that the STF decision causes a “crisis of confidence” between the Powers and exposes the Judiciary
The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), said this Tuesday (April 30, 2024) that he will eliminate the payroll tax exemption for 17 sectors and for municipalities with up to 156.2 thousand inhabitants is “illusory victory” for the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). He cited a “crisis of trust in the relationship between Powers”.
“And this is the point that we attribute to being a mistake on the part of the government in all aspects. In the end, even if a preliminary or definitive decision emerges victorious, it ends up being an illusory victory, because it resolves a point, but generates a crisis of confidence in the relationship between the Powers”he told journalists in the Senate.
The senator argued that the exemption was already being discussed in the Legislature and that there was no need to “precipitation of the filing of an action”. According to him, the government’s initiative to take the end of the exemption to the STF (Supreme Federal Court) causes a “exhibition of the Judiciary” caused by politics.
“The wear and tear today that the Judiciary ends up facing, with a lot of misunderstanding regarding its role, is the result of this phenomenon of judicialization of politics that provokes the Federal Supreme Court, the judicial bodies, to decide issues that are political”declared the congressman.
On Thursday (April 25), STF minister Cristiano Zanin took down excerpts of the exemption. The action was in response to a government request, formalized by a petition from the AGU (Attorney General of the Union), which argues that the reduction in rates does not present the fiscal impact of the measures in its projects.
The case went to the virtual plenary. However, Luiz Fux asked for a view (more time for analysis). Until now, there are 5 votes to maintain Zanin’s decision. As it was a monocratic act, the measure is already valid. If endorsed by the other ministers, it will be in effect until the Court judges the act definitively.
A day later, in On Friday (April 26), Pacheco filed an appeal at the STF to revoke the decision.
Congressmen assess that the government has not complied with agreements made in the Legislature and, at the same time, expect cooperation from Congress on issues considered priorities.
UNDERSTAND
In December 2023, Lula published MP (provisional measure) 1,202, which established the end of tax exemptions for 17 sectors of the economy and for municipalities with up to 156.2 thousand inhabitants.
In February, after Congress’s dissatisfaction, Lula revoked the reimbursement, but only for the 17 benefiting sectors. After agreeing with the Legislature, the Government leader in the Chamber, José Guimarães (PT-CE), presented 2 bills: one to deal with tax relief for groups and another to reduce the rates applied to city halls.
Both are under analysis in the Chamber and there is no forecast of when they will be voted on.
This report was written by journalism intern Maria Laura Giuliani under the supervision of assistant editor Isadora Albernaz.
