On Tuesday, February 27, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called the Brazilian tax reform approved by the National Congress last year "truly historic”. According to her, the measure may attract foreign investments to the country.
“I congratulate Minister [of the Economy, Fernando] Haddad for proposing truly historic tax reform. This will make business easier, including for US companies to invest in Brazil.”
The reform is one of the main measures the Lula government and minister of economy Fernando Haddad have been advocating for, which promises to modernize Brazil’s tax system by implementing a taxation model currently used in many developed countries. The government expects to send the bill to the National Congress in March.
Yellen participated in the event organized by the American Chamber of Commerce for Brazil (Amcham), part of the parallel activities of the G20 Summit, held in São Paulo. The event also had Marina Silva, Brazil’s minister of the environment.
Taxation of the super-rich and IMF reformulation
The fight against inequality in the world and reforms in multilateral financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, were the topics of the ministerial meeting of the Financial G20. As president of the group this year, Brazil has set the fight against hunger, poverty and inequality as priorities for the discussions.
Representing Brazil alongside the president of the Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto, Minister Fernando Haddad defended a proposal for global taxation of the super-rich. Since he tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday (25), Haddad's participation in the event took place virtually.
This year marks the arrival of the African Union as a new member of the G20, which will have South Africa as its president in 2025.
An estimated 500 international representatives, including financial ministers and deputy ministers, central bank authorities, ambassadors and leaders of international organizations from the G20 member countries attended the meeting.
Delegations from 27 countries participated: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo, African Union Trade and Industry Commissioner Albert Muchanga and Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Indrawati are some of the authorities who went to São Paulo.
