Author: Cedê Silva
Jul 05, 2024 11:04 5 min read The Brazilian Congress made progress towards implementing a monumental tax reform by presenting a detailed report on the government’s proposed legal definitions. The reform aims to simplify Brazil’s complex tax system by consolidating multiple taxes into two VAT-like levies at the federal and local levels. In April, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad introduced the initial bills for the reform, with a focus on collaboration between the government and local administrations. The proposed amendment sets the benchmark VAT rate at 26.5 percent, limiting Congress’s ability to introduce tax breaks. Tax law expert Maria Carolina Gontijo…
Jul 04, 2024 12:44 2 min read The Federal Police launched a second operation to investigate former President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies for fraudulently producing fake Covid vaccination certificates in 2022. The operation involved executing search and seizure warrants in Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias. The targets of the operation were identified as Washington Reis, Rio Janeiro’s transportation secretary, and Célia Serrano, Duque de Caxias’s municipal health secretary. Both individuals were implicated in falsifying public vaccine records according to a Federal Police report from March 2024. The investigation, which began in May 2023, revealed that individuals close…
By Brazilian Report Jul 04, 2024 11:24 5 min read Brazil recently revealed a study proposing an international standard for taxing billionaires, commissioned as part of its G20 presidency. This aligns with the country’s aim to tax the super-rich, as indicated by Finance Minister Fernando Haddad earlier this year. The proposed tax would require individuals with over USD 1 billion in wealth to pay a 2 percent annual tax. Economist Gabriel Zucman, one of the authors of the proposal, believes this approach is crucial as wealth is harder to manipulate than income for ultra-high-net-worth individuals. An earlier report by the…
Jul 01, 2024 13:43 2 min read A recent study commissioned by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) revealed that 70 percent of manufacturing executives in Brazil experienced unannounced power outages at their factories within the last year. The survey, conducted by IPRI, interviewed 1,002 executives from small, medium, and large companies, with a significant portion from the Southeast region. The findings showed that power outages were widespread, affecting companies of all sizes and regions. The Northeast reported the highest occurrence at 79 percent, followed by the Southeast at 71 percent. These outages had varying impacts on productivity, with 46…
Jun 26, 2024 15:51 2 min read President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has threatened to remove Communications Minister Juscelino Filho from his position if he faces corruption charges. The Federal Police has recommended charges against Mr. Filho for allegedly directing funds to a city governed by his sister illegally. The decision now lies with the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, with Lula asserting that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Mr. Filho has denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the investigation is politically motivated. Despite past controversies and asset freezes, he remains in his position. If prosecutors decide to press charges, the…
Jun 25, 2024 15:37 2 min read sdfsdf The Executive Committee of Interpol has proposed Brazil’s Valdecy Urquiza as a candidate for the next secretary-general of the global police organization. Mr. Urquiza, currently a vice president at Interpol and director for international cooperation at Brazil’s Federal Police, has the potential to succeed Germany’s Jürgen Stock if endorsed by a majority of the 196 member countries during the next general assembly in November. Interpol describes the secretary-general as responsible for the day-to-day decision-making and functioning of all General Secretariat duty stations worldwide. The Brazilian government sees Mr. Urquiza’s nomination as a…
Jun 25, 2024 12:22 2 min read President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva celebrated Julian Assange’s release, who agreed to plead guilty to a single felony under the U.S. Espionage Act in exchange for freedom in Australia. Lula hailed the event as a victory for democracy and press freedom. Assange, after over 5 years in Belmarsh Prison, departed for Australia via Thailand, where he is expected to be sentenced in a U.S. court. The U.S. accused him of breaching the Espionage Act in 2010. Lula and his Workers’ Party have been vocal supporters of Assange, seeing him as a hero…
Jun 24, 2024 17:24 2 min read Federal employees of environmental agencies and the Environment Ministry in five states are on a full strike, halting activities like inspections and licensing processes. The workers in Acre, Pará, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, and Brasília have joined the strike, organized by the union Ascema. This nationwide strike began earlier in the year and has now escalated to affect essential activities only. Unfortunately, the Brazilian government has stopped negotiations with the workers, raising concerns about the country’s environmental efforts. The strike has already impacted the Amazon region, with an increase in environmental degradation…
Jun 22, 2024 12:10 4 min read (Updated: Jun 22, 2024 12:14) This week, Joenia Wapichana, head of Brazil’s federal indigenous agency Funai, emphasized the need for increased funding during a public hearing with House lawmakers. The agency has faced financial challenges, with a meager discretionary budget of BRL 225 million (USD 41 million) in 2023 for the entire country. Funai’s expenditures in 2023 totaled BRL 577 million, with a significant portion allocated to employee salaries, benefits, and pensions. The agency’s largest recent discretionary expense is a BRL 68 million contract with Infraero to enhance airstrips in the Yanomami indigenous…
Jun 21, 2024 11:28 2 min read (Updated: Jun 21, 2024 11:29) Supreme Court Justice Dias Toffoli played a crucial role in the debate over decriminalizing cannabis possession for personal use in Brazil. Originating from a case in São Paulo, where a man was convicted for possessing 3 grams of cannabis while already incarcerated, the trial has been ongoing since 2011. Despite a majority vote in favor of declaring current legislation unconstitutional, Toffoli voted to uphold it, proposing that drug users should not face criminal punishment. The debate on distinguishing between drug users and dealers lacks clear criteria, leading to…