Brazil Politics: VAT Rate Increases in Senate Tax Reform Plan

The Senate’s version of tax reform legislation includes exemptions that increase the standard VAT rate by a half-percentage point, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad told reporters after meeting Senator Eduardo Braga, the bill’s rapporteur, on Thursday.

Based on the original proposal, the estimate from the Finance Ministry’s technical team in August was that the percentage used to calculate the new tax rate would be between 25.45% and 27%, said O Globo. With the changes, the rate can reach a maximum of 27.5%, according to the newspaper.

The Senate’s Constitution and Justice Commission, known as CCJ, is set to vote ...