Former Dilma whip to be rapporteur for tax reform in the Senate

Senator Eduardo Braga of Amazonas state was selected to be the rapporteur of the tax reform bill in the Senate, The Brazilian Report has learned. His name will soon be announced by Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco.

Appointing a rapporteur in each legislative chamber is a fundamental initial step to getting bills and constitutional amendments approved. The Senate is to vote on the tax reform after the House passed a major overhaul of the tax code in two rounds of voting last Thursday. Reforming Brazil’s Byzantine tax legislation has been seen as a glaring need for the country for decades, as it increases the cost of doing business and stifles innovation.

Mr. Braga, aged 62, is in his second term as senator and has served two terms as governor in Amazonas. He is the current whip of the centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) party, which has 11 senators and is one of the largest parties in the upper house. He previously served as whip for the Dilma Rousseff administration in the Senate and later as her Mines and Energy Minister during her second term.

Finance Minister Fernando Haddad told reporters on Tuesday that he expects senators to amend the tax reform to make it “lighter,” “cleaner,” and with “fewer exceptions.” 

Lawmakers in the House approved a last-minute 35-page amendment with several new provisions, such as allowing state governments to keep additional taxes on primary and semi-finished goods until 2043, replacing similar funds in some state governments. 

Otherwise, the reform mostly removes from state governments the ability to impose different tax rates on products and services.

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