Speaker postpones tax reform vote again

Speaker Arthur Lira (center) greets fellow members of Congress. Photo: Pablo Valadares/CD/CC-BY 4.0

For the third straight week, House Speaker Arthur Lira has decided not to take the tax reform bill to a vote. The controversial proposal has received criticism from multiple sectors, with business entities opposed to taxes on dividends and local governments afraid that corporate income tax changes will affect their revenue.

Unable to reach a consensus regarding the tax reform proposal, the Speaker is switching his attention to the so-called “administrative reform” — a proposal to overhaul public service in Brazil and remove the ironclad stability enjoyed by civil servants. However, Mr. Lira stressed that the new rules would spare active public sector workers. “We want a lighter, more efficient state, but we will not allow vested rights to be disrespected,” he said.

The public service reform is among the core points of Economy Minister Paulo Guedes’s agenda, but President Jair Bolsonaro is less keen on supporting changes that could erode the support he enjoys among federal servants — not least as Brazil draws closer to the 2022 election.

Janaína Camelo

Janaína Camelo has been a political reporter for ten years, working for multiple media outlets. More recently, she worked for the presidency's press service and is now specializing in data journalism.