RIO DE JANEIRO/BRASILIA, April 30 (Reuters) - Brazil's Senate on Tuesday approved a bill maintaining tax incentives for the meetings and conferences sector until the end of 2026, which now needs President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's approval to become law.
The bill, which had already been approved by the Lower House, sets a total cap of 15 billion reais ($2.89 billion) for post-pandemic tax benefits granted to the event industry through the so-called PERSE program, valid until the end of December, 2026.
In December, Lula's administration introduced an executive order aimed at limiting benefits across various sectors and ensuring fiscal compensation, including a significant downsizing of the PERSE program, targeting its elimination by 2025.
The measure, which required subsequent approval by Congress, was strongly rejected by lawmakers, complicating the economic team's efforts to achieve the fiscal target of erasing the primary deficit this year.
The leftist government then started negotiating some kind of limitation to the program, which resulted in the bill that was approved by Senate unanimously. ($1 = 5.1936 reais) (Reporting by Pedro Fonseca in Rio de Janeiro and Marcela Ayres in Brasilia Writing by Andre Romani Editing by Steven Grattan and Matthew Lewis)
