Finance Minister talks about reconsidering tax cuts
Finance Minister Joaquim Levy during a talk with Facebook users 
Finance Minister Joaquim Levy said that, in order for the country's economic growth to be restored, the government should make some adjustments that can result in a few price changes. Economists refer to it as changes in relative prices, he says, which are important to pave the way for economic recovery.
Levy explained that “rebalancing” some taxes will be necessary, especially because some of them were reduced some time ago. He added, however, that “if any change is to take place, it'll be done carefully and after all alternatives have been ruled out. We're on the right path, and this time we're trying to make things right before we find ourselves in a crisis. As a friend of mine says, we're lucky enough to be able to fix the roof in a sunny day.”
His remarks were made on Portal Brasil's Facebook page, through the Federal Government's account. The minister also said that, in spite of all the challenges faced by the economy, the inflation remained within the target.
“The inflation rate [as measured by the National Consumer Price Index, or IPCA] in 2014 stood at 6.41%, which is below the 6.5% ceiling. Now, in January, inflation should really be a little higher than in some months last year, partly because January and February are months in which more adjustments are made, in school costs, the IPTU [tax on urban property], bus fares, etc.”
In the minister's view, the Central Bank, the protector of the value of money, has been attentive and will keep taking care so that inflation remains below the ceiling in 2015 and heads back to its aim of not surpassing 4.5% in 2016. “This 4.5% value is called the inflation target, which is key to making people confident about the recovery of the economy,” he said
Levy further highlighted that, in an effort to curb inflation, the government should not spend too much. “If we do this now, we might have inflation on the wane next year,” he argued.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Finance Minister talks about reconsidering tax cuts
