Renan Calheiros demands data from the Treasury on the fiscal impact of the Income Tax project after changes by the Chamber

The senator (MDB-AL), rapporteur of the project that expands the exemption range of demanded this Thursday (23) that the Ministry of Finance sends updated calculations on the tax impact of the text to the Senate after the changes made by the Chamber of Deputies. During a session of the Economic Affairs Committee (CAE), Renan stated that the department has not yet presented the new numbers, despite having committed to doing so. “The government needs to, at least, collaborate. The Treasury announced that the project was neutral, but after the Chamber’s modifications, which affected almost R$30 billion, it continues to say that it is neutral. They stopped sending the numbers and so far they haven’t”, said the senator.

The government leader in the Senate, Jaques Wagner (PT-BA), who participated in the meeting, stated that he will demand that the ministry send the information “as quickly as possible”. Renan criticized the Treasury’s stance, stating that the department has made “agreements with the Chamber, mainly with Centrão”, and that the government acts in a contradictory way. “In the Chamber, the Treasury reached an agreement to exempt rural activity, which affects the project’s compensation by almost R$8 billion, while the National Monetary Council restricts the renegotiation of agricultural debts to just over a thousand municipalities,” he declared.

Despite the criticism, the rapporteur assured that the Senate will act with fiscal responsibility. “The agreement that the Senate will make will not be to destroy the framework or the fiscal balance,” he stated. Renan also indicated that he should change the text coming from the Chamber, using regulatory resources. “We have the path of amending the wording, suppressing unconstitutional items, slicing or even presenting an autonomous project to correct the improprieties”, he explained.

*With information from Estadão Conteúdo