Brazil’s old tax code proposal met with public backlash

Global Business

The Brazilian government wants to reinstate an old tax on financial transactions to help re-balance its battered accounts. But convincing people to give more of their money to authorities is proving a tough sell with citizens questioning the government’s fiscal responsibility.

CCTV’s Paulo Cabral filed this report from Sao Paulo.

Brazil's old tax code proposal met with public backlash

The Brazilian government wants to reinstate an old tax on financial transactions to help re-balance its battered accounts. But convincing people to give more of their money to authorities is proving a tough sell with citizens questioning the government’s fiscal responsibility.CCTV’s Paulo Cabral filed this report from Sao Paulo.

More details:

  • According to data from the Heritage Foundation, a U.S. think tank, Brazil makes it to the list of 25 countries with the highest tax burdens in the world: over 35% of the GDP, similar to countries like the UK (35.2%), Iceland (37.2%) and Germany (37.6%).
  • News of billion-dollar corruption cases, like the notorious Petrobras scandal amid cuts in the budget to already deficient public services makes it even harder for the government to convince Brazilians of the need to pay more to cover its deficit.