Bolsonaro Seeks Higher Bank Levy to Pay for Fuel Tax Break
- Real sinks as decision risks creating fiscal time bomb
- Diesel tax cut to benefit truckers, key backers of Bolsonaro
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President Jair Bolsonaro plans to increase taxes on financial institutions while eliminating them on diesel and cooking gas in a bid to shore up his popularity during the pandemic.
Banks will see a levy known as CSLL rising to 25% from 20% while credit cooperatives and insurance companies will have it going up to 20% from 15%, according to a provisional decree published in the official gazette on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the government will halt the so-called PIS/Cofins tax on diesel for March and April and permanently eliminate it on gas used by households for cooking.