President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) vetoed the possibility of workers withdrawing food vouchers that are not used in cash, present in a proposal that changes the rules of the benefit.
Also out of the final text, by decision of Bolsonaro, the possibility of passing on the leftovers of the mandatory union contribution, which was extinguished in 2017, to union centrals.
The two proposals were included in the MP (Provisional Measure) sent by the government to Congress to change the rules of the benefit.
The vetoes were anticipated by the Sheet last week and published in the Official Gazette this Monday (5). Parliamentarians will have the final word on the text, and may reverse the decision of the Chief Executive.
It was up to the Ministry of Economy to recommend that the representative not sanction the measures, which he considers would bring legal uncertainty.
In the case of withdrawal of the cash benefit by the worker, the ministry said that the change would make the balance subject to tax.
The argument had already been anticipated by Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), son of the president and rapporteur of the project.
In addition, the government also claimed that “such a measure could attribute operational costs in the movement of money to the facilitating companies, which would possibly be passed on to the worker.”
The change generated discussion between sector entities and specialists. According to Abrasel (Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants), the possibility that the food allowance could be withdrawn in cash by employees if not used within 60 days was still a risk to the sector.
For the entity, this measure distorts the primary function of the aid, which is to guarantee the worker’s food, as it will allow the value to be used in other types of expenses.
There is controversy over the change. For Fernanda Borges Darós, a lawyer and partner at Silveiro Advogados and a specialist in business law (PUC-RS), the measure was right.
“It is necessary to remember that the food allowance belongs to the worker and it is up to him to dispose of this resource in the best way he sees fit, as long as it does not distort its purpose”, he said in an article published in Sheet on the last day 16.
According to her, both the aid and the meal vouchers can be provided for in union negotiation or be offered by the employer freely through registration in the PAT (Worker’s Food Program). Therefore, it would not be part of the employee’s remuneration and there is no taxation, such as Income Tax.
As for the proposal to transfer the residual balance of union dues to union centrals, Bolsonaro vetoed it because he did not present an estimate of the fiscal impact.
“In this case, the calculation of the impact and the absence of damage to the achievement of fiscal goals must be demonstrated”, says Economia in the Official Gazette of the Union.
The device should end the dispute for the resource, which can exceed R$ 600 million. This amount would have been passed on to the Ministry of Labor due to filling errors at the time.
These resources should have already been delivered to the entities, according to them — and the text would meet them.
Honorary President of Força Sindical, Paulinho da Força (SD-SP) was MP’s rapporteur for the proximity he has with the Mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL).
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