Congress exempts from taxes foreign purchases up to $50

Alongside the blusinhas measure, the talks also covered approval by the Senate’s Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) of proposed constitutional amendments (PECs) on public security and the six-day workweek.

The legislative process, however, was neither smooth nor fully complete. The public-security PEC, for instance, advanced only as far as approval of its main text, with three amendments still pending; the proposal isn’t expected to return to the floor until after the elections. The “blusinhas” vote, originally scheduled for Tuesday (1), required lengthy negotiations over compensation for affected sectors. There was also some expectation that the 6×1 proposal might reach the floor, though Alcolumbre had made no commitment to that effect.

The week’s results underscored both the administration’s ability to coordinate with congressional leadership and the limits of that coordination. The government managed to advance an agenda with strong political and economic appeal, while Alcolumbre and Motta delivered part of their agreement with Lula without committing to every subsequent step.

In the Senate especially, the partial progress of the two constitutional amendments showed that political agreement doesn’t guarantee floor approval. Still, concentrating votes during the “concentrated effort” week gave the government a measure of legislative visibility at a moment when it was rebuilding ties with leadership in both chambers.

The six-day workweek proposal cleared the CCJ and was sent to the floor under a special expedited timetable. The text cuts the maximum workweek from 44 to 40 hours and guarantees two paid days of rest, with no reduction in wages. A floor vote is now expected sometime between the first and second rounds of the elections.

The public-security PEC likewise advanced only partially. The CCJ approved the main text of the report by Senator Rogério Carvalho (PT of Sergipe) but left three amendments pending—among them a provision, since removed, that would have directed revenue from betting companies to public-security funds.

The blusinhas measure required even more prolonged negotiation, moving forward only after two days of talks over compensation for affected sectors. Its approval in both chambers stood as the week’s central legislative achievement. The Institute for Retail Development (IDV) said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned” about the measure’s passage, arguing that it restored “a serious asymmetry in the tax burden” between goods imported via foreign platforms and those manufactured in Brazil.

Beyond this package, Congress approved two additional provisional decrees during the week. One was the Move Brasil MP, launched in May alongside other initiatives aimed at audiences more sympathetic to the opposition.

It authorizes up to R$30 billion in financing to help taxi drivers and app-based drivers replace their vehicles and was expanded to cover school-transportation workers as well. After the loan program struggled to gain traction, the government had already extended the maximum financing term from 72 to 84 months and raised the maximum eligible vehicle price from R$150,000 to R$200,000.

Lawmakers also approved a provisional decree aimed at reducing case backlogs at the National Social Security Institute (INSS), capping off a week of concentrated legislative activity in which the government and congressional leadership advanced several proposals with significant political and social weight—even as some commitments were left for later.

*By Murillo Camarotto, Beatriz Roscoe, Ruan Amorim and Gabriela Guido — Brasília

Source: Valor International

https://valorinternational.globo.com/