Government announces adjustment measures for savings of up to R$ 60 billion

The federal government is preparing a package of fiscal adjustment measures with the potential to generate savings between R$ 50 billion and R$ 60 billion in 2027. The proposal was presented this Wednesday (11) by the Minister of Planning and Budget, Bruno Moretti, during a public hearing at the Joint Budget Committee (CMO), in the National Congress. The measures will be gathered into a complementary bill (PLP), negotiated with Senate leadership. The goal is to reinforce spending control, increase revenue, and contribute to meeting next year's fiscal target. According to Moretti, the package combines revenue-increasing initiatives and spending rationalization, while preserving expenditures essential to guaranteeing social rights. "Between revenue measures and spending measures, always seeking to protect expenditures that are crucial to ensuring rights, rationalize some expenditures, review tax expenditures that do not deliver the intended results, and even review some privileges, such as, for example, the issue of supersalaries," he declared. Spending trigger One of the main measures provides for an additional mechanism to contain expenditures. The proposal will allow limiting the real growth of federal spending to 2% in 2027, if projections indicate a risk of failing to meet the lower limit of the fiscal target. Currently, the fiscal framework allows real growth of up to 2.5%. The reduction could represent an additional containment of R$ 12.8 billion in the Budget. The block, which cannot be reversed during the fiscal year even if revenue improves, seeks to prevent the later release of funds that would compromise compliance with the fiscal target. Tax incentives The bill also provides for changes in tax incentive policy and in the tax offset mechanisms used by companies. Among the measures under discussion are: Tax benefits: an additional linear 10% reduction in exemptions and tax incentives granted to sectors of the economy. Tax offsets: limiting the use of credits that companies hold with the Federal Revenue Service to pay taxes. Supersalaries: review of privileges and expenditures considered excessive. Contingency: expansion of spending block mechanisms during budget execution. The economic team assesses that the review of incentives could improve revenue collection and reduce distortions in the granting of tax benefits. Health calculation Another measure involves the methodology for calculating the constitutional minimum funding for health. The government intends to exclude extraordinary revenues from oil and gas exploration from the calculation base of Net Current Revenue (RCL), used to define the minimum amount to be applied in the sector. The change, already adopted in 2026, is temporary in nature. With the bill, the intention is to extend the rule until 2030. Moretti defended the initiative as a way to rationalize expenditures linked to extraordinary revenues. "Basically, we are doing something quite reasonable, which is removing extraordinary oil-related revenues from the computation of the health minimum, and again, this is a matter of spending rationalization," he stated. The minister also estimated that maintaining two fiscal mechanisms approved by Congress could generate savings of approximately R$ 9 billion in 2027. "For next year, these triggers can generate savings of R$ 9 billion, which in practice brings more capacity to accommodate the set of expenditures within the budget," he said. Social preservation During the hearing, Moretti acknowledged that the high degree of earmarking of expenditures in the Brazilian Budget reduces the government's margin of decision over the allocation of resources. He emphasized, however, that part of the mandatory spending is related to guaranteeing fundamental rights, such as the minimum wage valorization policy. The strategy, according to the minister, is to seek balance in public accounts without compromising social policies and essential expenditures, including the constitutional minimum investments in health and education. Fiscal target The package is part of the government's strategy to achieve a primary surplus of 0.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2027, equivalent to R$ 73.2 billion. The primary result corresponds to the difference between government revenues and expenditures, not considering interest on the public debt. The economic team also intends to maintain the adjustment trajectory in the following years, with the expectation of reaching a surplus of 1.5% of GDP in 2030. To achieve this, it considers it necessary to improve the primary result and expand spending control mechanisms. Senate proceedings The complementary bill will be presented by the government leader in the Senate, Jaques Wagner (PT-BA), and will have Senator Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM) as rapporteur, who is also responsible for the 2027 Budget report. The expectation is that the proposal will advance in Congress still this Wednesday (11). As it is a complementary bill, the text will need to be approved by both legislative chambers to take effect. The government is counting on coordination with senators to speed up the proceedings and enable approval of the measures still in 2026.