Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro hit back on Tuesday at accusations his government is using accounting gimmicks to fund a new minimum income program without breaking its spending cap, its most important fiscal rule.
The Brazilian government posted a fiscal deficit of 41.13 billion reais (US$ 11.27 billion) in December, the third widest monthly deficit on record, the central bank said on Thursday. While it was in line with forecasts and amplified by seasonal factors, the shortfall highlights the challenge of exerting tighter control over the country's finances which new President Jair Bolsonaro has said is one of his top priorities.
The Brazilian government posted a primary budget surplus in April well above market expectations due to a seasonal increase in tax revenues and a drop in subsidies, a senior official said on Monday. The government, which is struggling to lift the economy out of a deep recession, posted a primary budget surplus of 9.751 billion reais (US$2.72 billion) in April.
Brazil posted a primary budget deficit in 2015 of 111.25 billion Reais (roughly $27.29 billion), the biggest since the data series began in 2001, the Central Bank said on Friday. The primary budget deficit (before interest payments), equivalent to 1.88% of GDP, was more than triple the primary budget gap in 2014 (32.5 billion reais, or 0.57% of GDP).
Brazil’s Congress on Thursday approved a 2016 budget with surplus targets lower than what Finance Minister Joaquim Levy wanted, a day after the country lost an investment-grade credit rating on concerns about fiscal restraint.
Brazilian government said in an executive order published Monday in the Official Daily that it was cutting spending by an additional 11 billion reais ($2.82 billion) this year. The move is part of an effort by the government to a budget deficit target of 1 percent of the gross domestic product, a goal agreed to during the last budget review.
Brazil's Congress on Wednesday voted to uphold most of President Dilma Rousseff's vetoes on billions of dollars in additional expenses, marking a partial victory for the president, who is fighting a weakening economy and calls for her ouster, plus a plunging currency.
Brazil's government announced on Monday spending cuts and tax increases totaling 65 billion Reais ($16.9 billion) as it races to close a budget deficit that led to a downgrade of the country's credit rating last week.
President Dilma Rousseff vowed on Wednesday to take new measures to reduce the deficit her administration is projecting for 2016, without ruling out more spending cuts and additional taxes in Brazil. The 2016 budget unveiled on Monday projected Brazil’s first-ever primary fiscal deficit, before payment of interest on the national debt, sparking controversy.
Brazil's government presented a 2016 budget Monday that for the first time projects the world's seventh largest economy operating in the red, sparking worries that the country's investment grade rating will be put at risk.