Brazil’s Bolsonaro courts events sector with pledge to restore tax breaks ahead of election

BRASILIA, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Brazil’s Senator Flavio Bolsonaro said in a post on X on Tuesday that he would restore Perse, a tax break program for the events sector, if he wins Sunday’s presidential election, reviving support originally introduced to help businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Bolsonaro finished unexpectedly ahead of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the first round earlier this month, and recent opinion polls show him maintaining a narrow lead ahead of Sunday’s runoff

• The senator’s campaign has pledged broad-based tax cuts, which sit uneasily alongside his promise of a faster fiscal adjustment, as lower taxes would reduce government revenue

• Created in 2021, Perse was designed to support the events, tourism and related industries, which were hit hard by COVID-19 lockdowns

• The program was later amended through legislation aimed at narrowing its scope, including changes introduced during the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro, the senator’s father

• Perse was phased out in April last year after Congress approved a 15 billion reais ($2.99 billion) cap on its tax expenditures, as part of leftist Lula’s efforts to strengthen public finances by curbing tax breaks

($1 = 5.0210 reais)