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Straits Times
27-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Brazil government begins legal analysis to challenge tax-hike reversal
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the plenary chamber of deputies during a session at the National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil December 18, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo BRASILIA/SAO PAULO - The office of Brazil's solicitor general said on Friday it was conducting technical analyses that could lead the government to take legal action against the decision by Congress to overturn a tax hike on some financial transactions. The AGU office said in a statement it had started the review at the request of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and asked the finance ministry for supporting information. "As soon as the analysis is completed, the AGU will announce its decision," it added. Both chambers of Congress dealt a major blow to the Lula administration on Wednesday when they voted to nix a decree raising the financial transactions tax levied on certain credit, foreign-exchange and private pension plan operations. The government opted for the move in May as a way to boost revenue and limit spending freezes needed to comply with its fiscal rules. The decree, however, faced immediate backlash from lawmakers, who said they would not approve tax hikes. Newspaper O Globo reported earlier on Friday that the government had decided to file a lawsuit with the Supreme Court as it believes Congress overstepped its constitutional powers by reversing the decree. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad had already hinted on Thursday about potentially taking the matter to court. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
27-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Brazil government to challenge tax hike reversal in Supreme Court, O Globo reports
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the plenary chamber of deputies during a session at the National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil December 18, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo
Straits Times
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Catholicism shrinks in Brazil as evangelical faith surges
FILE PHOTO: Hooded Catholic faithful participate in the Torch Procession, known as Fogareu, during the Holy Week in Goias, State of Goias, Brazil April 17, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Renascer Praise performs as Evangelicals take part in the \"March for Jesus\", considered to be the biggest event of the Evangelical Church, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil May 24, 2025. REUTERS/Lucas Landau/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Hooded Catholic faithful walk in the Torch Procession, known as Fogareu, during the Holy Week in Goias, State of Goias, Brazil April 16, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil, the world's largest Roman Catholic country, saw its Catholic population decline further in 2022 while evangelical Christians and those with no religion continued to rise, census data released on Friday by statistics agency IBGE showed. The census indicated that Brazil had 100.2 million Roman Catholics in 2022, accounting for 56.7% of the population, down from 65.1% or 105.4 million recorded in the 2010 census. Meanwhile, the share of evangelical Christians rose to 26.9% last year, up from 21.6% in 2010, adding 12 million followers to reach 47.4 million — the highest figure on record. The numbers may spell trouble to Brazil's leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose Workers Party has historically struggled to gain ground among evangelicals. A recent Quaest poll showed that while 45% of Catholics approved of the Lula administration, only 30% of evangelicals did. The share of Catholics in Brazil has been dropping since the beginning of official records in 1872, when residents could only opt between Catholic or non-Catholic, said Maria Goreth Santos, an analyst of IBGE. Enslaved people, who made up a huge share of Brazil's population at the time, were all counted as Catholics, regardless of their wishes, she added. Still, Catholicism remains the country's most popular religion – though the Vatican's dominance varies in different regions, with fewer Catholics in the Amazon region, and more in the Northeast. The new census data also revealed that the number of Brazilians who declare to have no religion rose to 9.3% from 7.9%, totaling 16.4 million people. Afro-Brazilian religions, such as Umbanda and Candomble, also gained ground, with the number of followers increasing from to 1% from 0.3%. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
04-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Brazil plans to cut tax breaks, curb education spending in fiscal package, say sources
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stands on the day he attends a press conference at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo BRASILIA - Brazil's government is negotiating a package of fiscal measures with congressional leaders that includes cuts to tax exemptions and limits on the growth of transfers to an education fund, according to sources familiar with the talks. After initially signaling the measures would be unveiled on Tuesday, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said they would be disclosed only after further discussions with party leaders on Sunday. First reported by local newspaper Valor Economico and confirmed by three government sources who requested anonymity, the package is being prepared as an alternative to the controversial hike in the financial transactions tax (IOF) announced last week, which drew broad backlash from lawmakers and business sectors. The plan focuses heavily on reducing tax benefits, a longstanding target of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's leftist administration, said three sources. His economic team often criticizes the volume of tax exemptions that weaken public revenues, though previous attempts to roll them back have seen limited success in Congress. That includes a payroll tax break for companies, which remains in place without due compensation. One of the sources said the new package includes a proposed constitutional amendment that would establish rules to curb growth in transfers to the Fund for the Development of Basic Education. A similar initiative in last year's fiscal package was watered down by Congress, which blocked efforts to redirect more of the fund's resources to full-time education spending. The new measures aim to create fiscal space for the government to revise the recent IOF tax decree, which increased rates on a range of credit, foreign exchange, and pension transactions. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Brazil plans to cut tax breaks, curb education spending in fiscal package, say sources
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stands on the day he attends a press conference at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil's government is negotiating a package of fiscal measures with congressional leaders that includes cuts to tax exemptions and limits on the growth of transfers to an education fund, according to sources familiar with the talks. After initially signaling the measures would be unveiled on Tuesday, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said they would be disclosed only after further discussions with party leaders on Sunday. First reported by local newspaper Valor Economico and confirmed by three government sources who requested anonymity, the package is being prepared as an alternative to the controversial hike in the financial transactions tax (IOF) announced last week, which drew broad backlash from lawmakers and business sectors. The plan focuses heavily on reducing tax benefits, a longstanding target of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's leftist administration, said three sources. His economic team often criticizes the volume of tax exemptions that weaken public revenues, though previous attempts to roll them back have seen limited success in Congress. That includes a payroll tax break for companies, which remains in place without due compensation. One of the sources said the new package includes a proposed constitutional amendment that would establish rules to curb growth in transfers to the Fund for the Development of Basic Education. A similar initiative in last year's fiscal package was watered down by Congress, which blocked efforts to redirect more of the fund's resources to full-time education spending. The new measures aim to create fiscal space for the government to revise the recent IOF tax decree, which increased rates on a range of credit, foreign exchange, and pension transactions. (Reporting by Bernardo Caram and Lisandra Paraguassu, writing by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
