The Workers’ Party (PT) caucus in Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies filed four bills on November 13 that would expand taxation on financial investments and high-income taxpayers. The lead measure would reinstate a 15 per cent income tax on corporate profits and dividends, ending an exemption that has been in place since 1995.
A second bill would create Brazil’s first Wealth Tax, with progressive rates starting at 0.7 per cent on net fortunes above 15 million reais (about $2.8 million) and rising to 3 per cent on amounts above 200 million reais (about $37 million). A third bill would impose a 7.5 per cent income tax on Agribusiness Credit Letters (LCA) and Real Estate Credit Letters (LCI), securities that are currently tax-exempt for individuals. A fourth would raise the tax rate on Interest on Equity (JCP) payments from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent. The party said the package aims to open fiscal space for social programs and public investment.
The bills arrive as the government pushes a separate fiscal-adjustment bill through Congress, already approved in the Senate but facing resistance within the governing coalition itself. Planning Minister Bruno Moretti pushed back on November 13 against claims circulating on social media that the adjustment package cuts the minimum wage, calling the claims “fake news.” The four PT bills still need to clear committees and a full Chamber vote before moving to the Senate, with no set timetable.
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BigGo Finance – Brazil’s Workers’ Party Files Package With 15% Dividend Income Tax and Wealth Tax
