Lula criticizes deduction of health expenses in the Income Tax and defends reform

President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticized this Tuesday (13) the deductions for health expenses in the Income Tax, in a possible indication that his government may propose changes to the benefit, which favors the middle class, in a tax reform .

Speaking during the closing ceremony of the transition team’s work, Lula stated that while the poorest have difficulty accessing more specialized treatments, he himself performs a series of tests annually and can deduct expenses from Income Tax, which which he called a “contradiction”.

“So, those who are paying for the treatment we have are the poor who have no rights in this country, the poor who don’t have a specialist, the poor who don’t have a health plan. That’s why we need to think about a tax reform to see if we manage to correct a little the centuries-old injustices that our country has”, said Lula.

The possibility of deducting medical expenses in the IR is the target of criticism from experts, who argue that the benefit is expensive for the government and does not favor the poorest, but cutting the possibility of deduction is seen as a highly unpopular measure among the middle class. .

On the eve of the second round of this year’s elections, the Jair Bolsonaro government denied that it would propose changes in health and education deductions, attributing the release of news in this regard to “PT” members within the government aimed at undermining the president’s chances of re-election.