Lira intends to create a group in the coming weeks to discuss tax reform

The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), intends to create, soon, a group focused on the discussion on tax reform.

THE CNN found that the former leader of the PT Reginaldo Lopes (MG) is quoted to be the coordinator of this group and deputy Aguinaldo Ribeiro (PP-PB) will be the rapporteur of the collegiate.

The group’s idea is to improve the tax reform proposal already being discussed in the Chamber and negotiate it with the various sectors of the economy, in order to have a sufficiently consensual proposal to take to the plenary this semester.

From the legislative point of view, the format that this group will have is not defined, but the works should resemble those of a special commission.

Ribeiro is the rapporteur for the tax reform proposal underway in the Chamber, presented by deputy Baleia Rossi (MDB-SP), with the help of the now extraordinary secretary for Tax Reform at the Ministry of Finance, Bernard Appy.

The PP deputy from Paraíba met briefly with the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), this Thursday (2). The processing of the tax reform was discussed, but without significant advances.

Allies of the president of the Senate say they are waiting for a concrete signal from the Lula government (PT) regarding the processing of the tax reform – that is, what the guidelines will be, what the Planalto and the Treasury want and how they intend to make the reform go through Congress .

So far, there are no scheduled meetings between the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, and the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), with the top of Congress to discuss the matter.

This Thursday, the Minister of Planning, Simone Tebet, met with the President of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), in which she made herself available to discuss the tax reform. On the way out, she said they talked more about the merits, not the form, of the text. The idea is that the text be analyzed first by the Chamber with the “puppet” of PEC 45.

The minister said that there is a need to align the text with the Senate so that the deputies approve a text that reaches the senators “almost ready”. Tebet preferred not to stipulate deadlines, not least because the new legislature has just begun.

In a press conference, also this Thursday, the leader of the government in the Chamber, deputy José Guimarães (PT-CE), said that there are important and well-elaborated points of the two main texts on the tax reform already in progress in Congress.

“There are very good things from the point of view of the federative pact in the 110/2019 proposal, as there are many relevant things in the PEC that is here [na Câmara], which deals more with the simplification of taxes. You have to put the two things together. Start where? It is not a new PEC. Take one and add, join, sum, and also speed up the processing.”

In the afternoon, in messages at the formal opening session of the legislative year, in Congress, this Thursday, Lula, Pacheco and Lira reinforced the need to move forward with tax reform.

President Lula did not personally go to Congress, but he sent a message that was delivered by the Chief Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa, and read in the plenary of the Chamber by the first secretary of the Board of Congress, deputy Luciano Bivar (União-PE) .

“It is in our utmost interest to reorganize, as soon as possible, the fiscal situation so that we can return to investing in Brazilian companies. We want more robust public policies, we want to attract domestic and foreign private investment. Therefore, I reaffirm the commitment and willingness of this president and the government team to dialogue with Congress in favor of approving the fiscal reorganization measures.”