Brasília, September 17, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - On Tuesday, the government was defeated for the first time since Congress began voting the reforms proposed by Lula's Administration. The government's allied support base was unable to defeat an amendment introduced by the PFL, removing from the bill an article intended to increase the progressiveness of the Death and Donation Transferal Tax, the so-called inheritance tax.

The pro-government bloc was only able to muster 280 votes; 308 were needed to defeat the proposal. 137 Deputies voted in favor of the amendment, and one abstained. As a result, the tax reform proposal no longer contains the article that established the progressiveness of the inheritance tax, with 15% as the highest bracket. The tax will remain as it was, with a uniform rate of 4%. (DAS)