"There's nothing wrong with [Fernando] Haddad's IOF," said the president. According to Lula, the main point of the changes is to correct the taxation of "sectors that make a lot of money and pay very little," such as betting and fintechs.
"The betting companies pay 12%, we want them to pay 18%. They make billions and billions. They don't want to pay. Fintechs, today, are almost like banks, they don't want to pay. So we have to fight this, people, we can't give in all the time," continued Lula.
"Every time we go beyond the fiscal framework, we have to cut the budget. So, if I have to cut R$40 billion (US$7.4bn) from the budget for street works, for health, for education, I have to have compensation. The IOF is a small part of making this compensation," he said.
After strong resistance from the National Congress to the tax increase proposed by the Treasury on May 22, the government published on the 11th a provisional measure (MP) on the taxation of investments, an increase in the tax on bets and proposals to cut spending, in addition to a new decree with lower IOF rates.
The new text maintains many of the rules of the previous decree, but modifies sensitive provisions, especially regarding the additional rate on credit operations and the treatment of foreign investments.
Last Monday (16), the Chamber of Deputies approved the urgency regime for a bill that overturns the government's new decree on the increase. The proposal itself, that is, the merits of the bill, has not yet been analyzed by the deputies.
Source: CNN
