Brazil Completes Sweeping Tax Overhaul 30 Years in the Making

Brazil’s Congress finalized a drastic overhaul of the country’s tax code, completing a reform effort that had eluded lawmakers and leaders for three decades.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (center-left) and Finance Minister Fernando Haddad with Vice President Geraldo Alckmin (left) and lower house Speaker Arthur Lira

Photographer: Ton Molina/Bloomberg

The lower house passed the reform bill, a proposed amendment to the constitution, in two separate votes Friday, delivering on President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s goal of securing its approval before the end of the year.

Lawmakers only withdrew changes the Senate made before passing the bill in November, and barring a last-minute challenge it can be enacted next week.

The plan aims to simplify one of the world’s most complex systems by ...