The Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul will have a special commission destined to monitor and debate the tax reform. The announcement was made by the proponent, deputy Miguel Rossetto (PT), during an activity this Thursday (9), promoted by the Union of Tax Technicians of the State Revenue Service (Afocefe).
For the parliamentarian, the commission’s objective is to link national issues, produce information and awareness that generates a reform to rebuild the country. “A large open popular movement is needed that allows discussing the state’s revenue structure. President Lula wants priority in taxing income and assets. It is necessary to finance public policies and not this immoral rent-seeking with an interest rate that appropriates revenue. public,” defended Rossetto.
“This theme needs to become everyday because it has a great impact on the lives of all Brazilians”, recorded the president of the Fiscal Justice Institute, Dão Real Pereira dos Santos, participant of the 1st Afocefe Diálogos panel, at the entity’s headquarters in Porto Alegre.
Taxing the super-rich is a priority
For the tax auditor, Brazil needs a progressive tax reform, which prioritizes the taxation of the super-rich and reduces it for the poorest. And he warned that this combination is not contained in PECs 45 and 110 that are being processed in the National Congress, where there are strong lobbies aimed at tax simplification. “The problem is not in the complexity, but in the regressiveness of the system, a point that barely changes the national proposal under debate”, highlighted the leader of the IJF.
Dão Real warns that the content of the PECs is not focused on tax justice, an item considered fundamental for Brazil to overcome inequalities, defends the tax specialist, one of the coordinators of the national campaign Tribute the Super-Rich. The movement has already filed several bills in the Federal Chamber proposing measures that burden only 0.3% of the population and increase annual revenue by R$ 300 billion.
Niara’s comics are aimed at simplifying the understanding of the tax system, also published on the IJF’s social networks / Photo: Kátia Marko
The campaign advocates easy-to-operate measures that have a great impact on revenue with tax justice without requiring amendments to the Constitution. “The times of needs and the economy are different. Prioritizing what and how to do makes all the difference in people’s lives”, pointed out Dão Real who distributed the booklets with a comic book of the character Niara, aimed at simplifying the understanding of the tax system , also posted on IJF and campaign social media.
The Manners of the Billionaires
The president of the IJF explained that the Brazilian elite carried out two tax reforms in their favor, without fanfare and without calling it a reform. One year after the 1988 Constitution, which determined seven progressive rates for different income brackets, those taxing high incomes were withdrawn, reducing from 45% to 25%. This removed taxation from the top of the pyramid and shifted it to the bottom.
The other reform took place in 1995, when distributed profits and dividends were exempted, precisely from high incomes received by partners or company owners.
“Taxation is never neutral. It is a political choice and a central instrument of the class struggle that can reduce inequality or increase the concentration of wealth,” he added.
Debate should be broad with society
The meeting at Afocefe, broadcast on the entity’s YouTube channel and on Facebook, also included the participation of Livi Gerbase, political advisor at the Institute of Socioeconomic Studies (Inesc), and economist at the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea) Sérgio Gobetti .
The Ipea representative understands that the proposal corrects economic, social and federal distortions and inefficiencies. But he points out: “everyone says they are in favor of it, but when it comes to approving it, compensations arise”.
“We are going to lose if we only think about approving PECs 45 and 110. We have to think as a whole and correct the inequalities of the Brazilian tax system, which must be solidary, sustainable and healthy”, summarized the Inesc member.
“The reform is imminently political and needs to have a broad debate with all of society that must be mobilized for this fundamental issue”, concluded the president of Afocefe, Alexandre Luzzi.
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Source: BdF Rio Grande do Sul
Editing: Marcelo Ferreira
