Brazil gov’t to abolish fuel tax, political leaders say

The heads of both of Brazil’s congressional houses—Eunício Oliveira (Senate) and Rodrigo Maia (Chamber of Deputies)—announced that the government will abolish one of the taxes levied on fuel.

The impact from the decision, the lawmakers went on to declare, may be mitigated through a bill currently in Congress restoring former taxes to certain sectors in the economy.

Earlier on, Petrobras had announced reduced fuel prices as of tomorrow (May 23).

On their Twitter accounts, Maia and Oliveira wrote the decision had been made jointly with Finance Minister Eduardo Guardia. The move came as a surprise, as the minister had described the leeway for lowering taxes on fuel as “limited” in a statement made early this morning (22).