Inequality is the center of the seminar on tax reform that takes place this Thursday (28), from 9am to 5:30pm, in São Paulo, in a free hybrid format (in person and online), at the Novotel Jaraguá Conventions (Rua Martins Fontes, 71 – Centro), broadcast on the Instituto Justiça Fiscal channel on YouTube and the Facebook page. Registration is free.
:: Currently in the Senate, Tax Reform still requires arrangements and maintains hopes in the fight against inequalities ::
With the theme Tax Reform for a Socially Fair Brazil: Development, Social Policies, Decent Employment and Income Distribution, the dialogue aims to debate alternatives for Brazil to implement a socially fair and progressive tax reform. Participating in the event are the president of IBGE, Marcio Pochmann, economist Paulo Nogueira Batista and Nobel laureate in Economics, Joseph Stiglitz (video).
The wealth value of just 0.5% of the population is almost equal to 50% of GDP, exempt or under-taxed assets. In terms of income inequality, it is the seventh most unequal country in the world and the second in wealth concentration at the top, second only to Qatar.
Among the issues to be addressed is the profound inequality revealed by data from the Personal Income Tax (IRPF), a tax considered the most important for promoting fiscal justice.
Due to the tax relief on high incomes, the richest pay lower rates than the poorest, deepening social inequalities. Of the total of 31 million declarants analyzed in minimum wages (SM), taxpayers from 30 SM per month pay proportionally less IRPF as their income increases. A taxpayer who receives more than 320 SM per month has 70% of their income exempt from IRPF, while anyone who earns between 5 and 7 SM is exempted by 15%.
Another crucial change for tax auditors is the end of the exemption on profits and dividends that has been in force since 1996, income distributed to owners of large companies and shareholders, while workers pay on their salaries. The collection of the Tax on Great Fortunes is in the 1988 Constitution, and has never been regulated, another factor in the concentration of wealth.
:: Taxing the super-rich affects 0.001% of Brazilians and would finance around 30% of Minha Casa Minha Vida ::
According to Stiglitz, taxation of the super-rich is important to finance income redistribution. For him, democracies can only fully develop in a scenario of economic and social justice, with compulsory taxation of the most favored layers.
“It is essential that governments have adequate resources, but unfortunately the sense of community is not strong enough for citizens with more resources to willingly give them to society. Nowhere in the world will the super-rich give away half of their income because they want a fairer society, so there needs to be taxes”, explained the economist.
He highlighted that there are super-rich people who recognize and criticize tax privileges, “but will only accept paying taxes if everyone else also pays”, he argues.
Rich in Income Tax
The event will be divided into three panels: “Tax Reform for a Socially Fair Brazil: Development, Social Policies and Income Distribution”, starting at 9:30 am. In the afternoon, at 1:30 pm, “The Super-Rich in Income Tax: Limits and Challenges” and, to close, at 3:15 pm, the topic “Risks and Uncertainties in Tax Exemption” will be addressed.
The activity is promoted by the Federal Revenue Tax Auditors Union (Sindifisco Nacional), the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Economic Studies (Dieese), the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) and the Fiscal Justice Institute (IJF).
:: Super-rich don’t pay… will they pay? ::
At the opening table will be the president of Sindifisco Nacional, the tax auditor, Isac Falcão; the president of Dieese, Maria Godoi de Faria, the president of the IJF, Dão Real Pereira dos Santos and the economist Marilane Teixeira, representing the Center for Union Studies and Labor Economics at Unicamp. At the opening there will be a special appearance by the Nobel Prize-winning American economist, Joseph Eugene Stiglitz, with a recorded message.
Among the panelists are the president of the Brazilian Statistics Institute (IBGE), Marcio Pochmann; the former executive director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and economist, Paulo Nogueira Batista; Fausto Augusto Jr. and Leandro Horie, from Dieese; Paulo Gil and Clair Hickmann, from IJF; Pedro Humberto Carvalho Júnior, from Ipea; Pedro Rossi, Francisco Lopreato and José Dari Krein, from Unicamp.
Schedule
▪️ 9h – OPENING
President of the IJF, Dão Real Pereira dos Santos; president of Dieese, Maria Aparecida Faria; president of Sindifisco, Isac Moreno Falcão dos Santos and economist Marilane Teixeira, from the Center for Union Studies and Labor Economics at Unicamp.
Special participation by the Nobel Prize in Economics, Joseph Eugene Stiglitz (video).
▪️ PAINEL I
9:30 am – Tax Reform for a socially fair Brazil: development, social policies and income distribution
Moderation: Maria Regina Paiva Duarte, Fiscal Justice Institute
Fausto Augusto Júnior – Dieese
Paulo Nogueira Batista – Economist, former vice president of the BRICS and former director of the IMF
Marcio Pochmann – professor at Unicamp and president of IBGE
Marilane Teixeira – Cesit/Unicamp
Debate
▪️ PANEL II
1:30 pm – The Super-Rich on Income Tax: limits and challenges
Moderation: Juvandia Moreira – president of the National Confederation of Financial Workers (Contraf/CUT)
Paulo Gil and Clair Hickmann – IJF
Pedro Rossi – Unicamp
Francisco Lopreato – Unicamp
Debate
▪️ PANEL III
3:15 pm – Risks and uncertainties in payroll tax relief
Moderation: Maria de Lourdes (Lurdinha) – Sindifisco
Pedro Humberto Carvalho Júnior – IPEA
Leandro Horie – Dieese
José Dari Krein – Cesit/Unicamp
▪️ DEBATE
Source: BdF Rio Grande do Sul
Editing: Katia Marko
