Minister: Economic agents more confident about Brazil's recovery
Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles stated Thursday (Jun. 30) that rates showing the confidence of economic agents in the country's recovery are now on the rise. He highlighted, however, that it is the government's job to ensure macroeconomic conditions and administer public finances properly to cover its own expenses, by collecting taxes and reducing the public debt.
During a meeting with acting President Michel Temer and representatives from the Confederation of Commercial and Business Associations of Brazil (CACB), held at the Planalto presidential palace, Meirelles once again mentioned former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who ruled from 1979 to 1990, for whom, he said, “there was no such thing as public money—just the money from taxpayers.”
Meirelles, who often described Brazil's tax burden as over the top, pointed out that, for the current government, good administration means collecting only the necessary, and having a lighter and lighter tax load.
He restated that economic indicators show that the reduction in confidence is being reversed. On the current scenario, with a falling consumption rate, workers' fear of unemployment, a plunge in production, and companies' concern over the economic slowdown, the minister said the economic staff is reversing the process, in a bid to address the “spiral of this situation.”
Among the factors providing economic agents with predictability and confidence, Meirelles mentioned the constitutional amendment bill limiting the growth in public spending for the next years to the inflation rate from the year before. It is important to see the proposal materialize, he argued, and work not to let spending increase considerably beyond the inflation, without raising the necessary revenue, as was previously the case.
Meirelles once again stressed that, if finances are kept steady, both the states and the federal government will bring about the conditions for the recovery of the economy, income and the purchasing power of Brazil's currency. “The country is bound to resume growth; companies will sell more and produce more, and the government will make the improvement in infrastructure possible,” he added.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Minister: Economic agents more confident about Brazil's recovery
