Lula Seeks to Tax the Rich to Help Balance Brazil’s Budget

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s recipe to raise revenues and balance Brazil’s budget mirrors a strategy leaders around the world have attempted to deploy: New taxes on his country’s wealthiest residents.

Lula’s economic team unveiled this week a series of measures to tax closed-end and offshore funds that are usually accessible only to deep-pocketed investors. The plans, which could bring in an additional 20.3 billion reais ($4.2 billion) in revenue next year, are meant to help eliminate Brazil’s primary budget deficit while also making its tax system less regressive.

Both goals may prove difficult to achieve. Congressional ...