Organizations behind a campaign to tax Brazil's "super-rich" met on Tuesday (25) with Jose Sergio Gabrielli, the coordinator of the government program for a potential new term of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT). The information comes from Painel, the politics column of Folha de S.Paulo, published on Thursday (27).
Gabrielli, 76, is an economist trained at the Federal University of Bahia. He ran state oil company Petrobras from 2005 to 2012, under Lula and Dilma Rousseff, and later served as planning secretary of Bahia state under Governor Jaques Wagner (PT). He now coordinates the drafting of the platform for Lula's reelection bid, according to Poder360.
The meeting with the organizations took place one day after Folha published an interview in which Gabrielli defended raising taxes on the super-rich. According to Poder360, the economist said the growth of Brazil's public debt stems from interest charges. He also suggested the National Treasury intervene in the bond market through buybacks to bring down long-term interest rates.
Government program
The PT's government program was registered with the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Brazil's top electoral authority, on August 7 and devotes a chapter to tax justice and reducing inequality. Under the guideline of "putting the poor in the budget and the rich in the income tax", the document cites the taxation of offshore accounts and exclusive investment funds as advances. A larger contribution from the super-rich is presented in the text as the funding source for tax relief for Brazilian families, Poder360 reported.
On fiscal policy, Gabrielli pointed to the Treasury's bond buybacks in March, which totaled R$ 43.6 billion (about US$ 8 billion). According to Poder360, it was the largest intervention ever in nominal terms, above the R$ 35.56 billion repurchased in 2020 during the covid-19 pandemic.
The tax proposals for a potential new term will be detailed over the course of the campaign. Lula's candidacy is already registered with the TSE, and the first round of the presidential election is scheduled for October.