With government revenue falling, it is already studying new options to meet the goal of keeping the balance of public accounts at a maximum of US$ 42 billion this year. According to sources heard by local media O Globo, among the possibilities under study is the increase of the Contribution of Intervention on the Economic Domain (Cide). However, the possibility encounters resistance.
"There is a lot
of resistance still within the government," said an interlocutor of
President Michel Temer, on condition of anonymity, who concluded: "It is
unpopular."
The argument of those who are against it, is that the measure is quite
unpopular at a time when the government is at the most politically weakened
because of accusations of corruption against the President of the Republic.
What can be raised is also considered low, since the measure would only take
effect in the final three months of 2017. The collection projected is only US$ 900
million.
This money could be
achieved by other ways. One of them would be to make the sale of Lotex, the scratch
cards company of Caixa Econômica Federal, by direct concession. Thus, the money
would go directly to the National Treasury. The bank wants this transaction to
be done via Caixa as a privatization inside the institution. With this, the
resources would go to the balance sheet and the Union would receive the payment
of tax on the operation.
If the transaction is made as advocated by the Ministry of Finance, it can
yield up to US$ 900 million for the government. If it were via Cash, earnings
would fall by half. It was scheduled to take place in November, but the
timeline was anticipated, according to sources heard by O Globo.
"We ran the
schedule for the efficiency of the technicians," said another source, on
condition of anonymity.
According to a source close to the negotiations, the four leading groups of
instant lottery exploration are interested in the auction. Demand would not
have fallen even with the country's political landscape.
