Treasury denies measure to tax LCI and LCA with IOF, but studies equality between exempt securities
Daniel Leal states that there is no specific measure under discussion, but the economic team is debating how to treat exempt titles in an equal manner.
BY THE X-TRADER NEWS NEWSROOM · REPORTING FROM ESTADÃO · 2 MIN
On Thursday, the 29th, the Secretary of the National Treasury, Daniel Leal, stated that the government does not have any specific measure to tax securities such as LCI and LCA with IOF. According to Estadão, he said that any change in this area needs to be careful so as not to produce a perverse effect.
The interview reports, however, are not identical. Estadão recorded that no specific measures were discussed, although the internal debate within the economic team is constant. InfoMoney reported that Leal denied that the government discusses IOF on exempt securities, but admitted that management is evaluating ways to tax these securities. In both cases, the central message is that nothing has been defined.
Behind the scenes, according to findings from Estadão and Broadcast, the return of the proposal to tax exempt bonds with IOF is outside the government's focus. This reading is compatible with Leal's statement to InfoMoney that no measures have been put in place at this time.
The Treasury's technical argument is equality. According to Estadão, Leal defends that exempt titles are treated equally, with the aim of gaining efficiency and reducing distortions in the market. For InfoMoney, the aforementioned objective is the same, but the team still needs to study what the best form of taxation would be.
From the perspective of those who defend fiscal responsibility and lower taxes, the episode raises an issue that goes beyond LCI and LCA. Tax rules changed midway affect the decisions of savers and banks, which need predictability to plan funding. Therefore, the discussion on equality should be accompanied by clarity about what the government intends to do and what effects it expects, something that Thursday's statements still do not make clear.
What changes for the investor
So far, there is no proposal announced that would change the taxation of LCI and LCA. The point of attention is in the signal: equality between exempt securities is being studied, and a possible rule change would alter the comparison between these instruments and other fixed income applications. Anyone who invests in these securities must follow the next steps of the economic team, without this meaning anticipating prices or market movements.
Automatically translated from Portuguese.
