Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro has pledged to restore Brazil’s Perse tax break if elected Oct. 25, reviving pandemic-era support for event businesses while he promises faster fiscal adjustment.
Bolsonaro made the pledge in an X post on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Created in 2021, Perse provided relief to events, tourism and related businesses hit by COVID-19 lockdowns.
Congress subsequently tightened Perse’s rules, including while former President Jair Bolsonaro, the senator’s father, was in office.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva sought to improve public finances by reducing tax exemptions, Reuters reported. Congress set Perse’s tax-expenditure ceiling at 15 billion reais ($2.99 billion), and the program ended in April 2025.
Reuters said revenue lost through broad tax cuts could leave less room for the faster fiscal adjustment Bolsonaro has promised. Voters are scheduled to choose between Bolsonaro and Lula in the Oct. 25 runoff.
