Brasília, September 12, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The president of the Chamber of Deputies, João Paulo Cunha (PT-SP) affirmed on Thursday (11) that, "if the deputies attend the sessions and if God is willing," the first round of voting on the tax reform will be concluded next week. As to criticisms made by opposition parties that the reform will increase the tax burden, Cunha said that his opinion is diametrically opposed.

In his view, the Chamber's advisors made a detailed study of the subject, analyzing the reform proposal item by item, and this inspired confidence that "the end result of the tax burden will not be altered." Cunha informed that the Chamber is offering the population a tax system that is both simplified and improved, more capable of avoiding evasion and fraud, as well as helping to raise revenues, without increasing the tax burden.

The president of the Chamber said that, next Monday and Tuesday, he will resume conversations with the PFL and other parties to expedite voting on the six special amendments and the catch-all amendments introduced to modify the text of the tax reform proposal. He explained that it was not possible to conclude the voting on the proposal today, because the quorum was low, and the reform is a difficult issue, demanding large parliamentary attendence for the vote to be conducted successfully.

Cunha informed that, following the voting of the tax reform, the Chamber will consider the Bankruptcy Law and the Disarmament Statute, which are both important matters for society. (DAS)