Brasília – Federal revenue amounted to BRL 139.03 billion (USD 34.4 billion) in Brazil last April, the Federal Revenue Secretariat reported this Thursday (23). The amount is up 1.28% year-on-year in real terms, and the biggest for an April since 2014.
Non-tax revenues (especially oil royalties) were the single leading driver in the result at BRL 11.03 billion (USD 2.7 billion), up 24.82%. Earnings managed by the Federal Revenue Secretariat (such as taxes and contributions) came out to BRL 127.99 billion (USD 31.6 billion), down 0.34% in real terms.
Year-to-date through April, federal revenue was BRL 524.371 billion (USD 129.8 billion), up 1.14%. This was also the strongest result for the period since 2014. Federal Revenue-managed earnings were BRL 499.165 billion (USD 123.5 billion), up 0.3%. Revenue handled by other government entities amounted to BRL 25.205 billion (USD 6.2 billion), up 21.12%.
The head of the Center for Tax and Customs Studies, Claudemir Malaquias, said some of the growth seen in the first four months of the year is imputable to Q1 Income Tax payments from corporate entities concerning 2018. According to him, the effects of corporate growth seen last year are still being felt.
Other drivers are hikes in the US dollar, oil prices, and production, which drives up royalty revenues. “Production is going up, and the oil price and exchange rate are fueling equity payments,” said Malaquias.
The Fiscal Policies undersecretary at the Ministry of Economy’s Secretariat for Economic Policy, Marco Cavalcanti, said “sluggish economic growth translates into revenues that are not as strong as we would like.”
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
