Brazil’s Tax Shift Masks Deeper Economic Failures and Risks to American Trade Interests

In a sweeping gesture hailed by Brazil's leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as "a victory in favor of tax justice," the nation’s lower house unanimously approved a bill dramatically increasing income tax exemptions for low-wage earners. This legislation would exempt up to 5,000 reais ($940) monthly from income taxes—more than doubling the current threshold and benefiting an estimated 15 million Brazilian workers.Is Brazil’s Tax Policy Change Really Progress—or Political Posturing?While this measure paints itself as a boost to social equity, closer scrutiny reveals a government scrambling to mask fiscal shortcomings with populist measures. The bill shifts revenue burdens...