Guedes has to mobilize the government if he wants to pass administrative reform, says Lira

Minister Paulo Guedes (Economy) has to mobilize the government if he wants to help approve the administrative reform, said this Tuesday (16th) the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL).

The deputy, who is in Lisbon (Portugal), gave an interview to CNN Brasil and was asked about the minister’s speech in Dubai that it is necessary to move forward with reforms so that liberals continue to support President Jair Bolsonaro in a second term.

Lira initially said that commenting without knowing the full length of Guedes’ statements “generally does not produce such emblematic effects”. He defended the need “to complete the reform cycle with administrative reform and tax reform.”

The president of the Chamber affirmed that the administrative one is ready to be considered in plenary. “Minister Paulo Guedes, in his own speech, has to mobilize the government so that the government can mobilize whether or not it wants to help with the administrative reform.”

“For now, that’s what I’ve been saying. I don’t see either the organized civil society or the government a willingness to tackle this issue now,” said Lira. According to him, whether or not everyone likes it, the reform needs mobilization to go ahead.

“If there isn’t, it is ready for any time in this government, in the next government, in the next year, or in the beginning of a new government, it can come to the plenary and complete this cycle with regard to these reforms,” ​​he added.

Regarding taxes, Lira recalled that the Chamber voted on the bill that changes the Income Tax rules and that it is awaiting analysis by the Senate, which must also consider the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) 110, which replaces nine taxes.

“A [proposta] from CBS [que unifica PIS e Cofins], it has been discussed with the rapporteur and the various segments, it has not yet come to the college of leaders”, he pointed out.

Administrative and tax reforms are often cited as fundamental to improve the country’s fiscal situation and to open up space in public accounts to expand investments.

However, errors in the political negotiation of both practically made the changes unfeasible until the end of the administration – the very top of Congress publicly admits that the window of approval of controversial matters ended now in November.

Delivered in July 2020, the first phase of Guedes’ tax reform has not yet progressed to the Chamber, where it began to be processed. The project that unifies PIS and Cofins at CBS does not even have a report.

The Chamber was also discussing a PEC that would combine federal, state and municipal taxes on consumption in a single tax. The government and Lira acted to bury this proposal.

The administrative reform, sent by the government in September 2020, has always been seen as one of the most difficult to be approved due to the strong lobbying of civil servants in Congress.

The PEC was approved by the special commission in the early hours of September 24th. In order for the proposal to move forward, base parties changed the composition of the collegiate body to reverse a defeat — 7 of the 8 Novo deputies were included in the group, including incumbents and substitutes.

Therefore, the approval by 28 to 18 was considered by many as artificial, demonstrating the difficulty that the proposal would face in the plenary.