The Minister of Planning, Simone Tebet (MDB), stated this Thursday (31) that the Budget Guidelines Law Project (PLDO) of 2024, which will be forwarded by the government to the National Congress later this afternoon, will provide that the minimum wage next year is R$1,421. Today, it is at 1,320, which would mean an increase of 7.6%.
The new value of the minimum wage already takes into account the rule for readjusting the minimum wage sanctioned by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) on Monday (28). Based on it, the national floor must annually include the percentage of growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from two years ago – from 2022, in the case of the floor from 2024 –, plus the percentage of inflation accumulated in the previous year – from 2023, in case.
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Considering the rule and the value proposed for the minimum, the federal government estimates that inflation will close the year at 4.7%. This is because it is already known that GDP grew 2.9% in 2022. The inflation percentage would, therefore, be the difference to the 7.6% estimated adjustment.
Tebet held a press conference about the PLDO this Thursday afternoon, alongside the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad (PT), and Senator Randolfe Rodrigues (Rede), government leader in the National Congress. The ministers avoided detailing the Budget proposal as it had not yet been sent to parliamentarians until the conversation with journalists. Still, they revealed some general lines of the project.
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Tebet and Haddad confirmed that the government predicts that, in the 2024 Budget, revenues will be equal to expenses – that is, there will be zero deficit in public accounts. Taking this target into account, the government estimates that it will have to increase its revenue by R$168 billion to meet the commitments it will assume in the PLDO.
According to Haddad, part of this extra revenue will come through projects already forwarded to Congress, such as taxing super-rich funds or taxing the income of offshore companies. Part of it will come from other proposals that will still be sent to the House.
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“We are facing a very balanced budget. With all expenses contracted and all revenues outlined, conservatively”, said Tebet.
“We are not denying the challenge and difficulty of balancing the accounts,” added Haddad. “We are reaffirming our commitment to achieving the best possible result.”
Editing: Rodrigo Durão Coelho
