Federal Revenue Auditors Halt Activities in Protest Against the Government

The Strike Aims to Pressure the Federal Government for the Regulation of the Payment of an “Efficiency Bonus”

Auditors from the Federal Revenue Service decided on Thursday, December 23, to carry out a partial suspension of their activities nationwide and join the so-called “standard operation” at airports and other customs points across the country. The measure aims to pressure the Federal Government to regulate the payment of an “efficiency bonus” to the category, after Congress did not allocate funds for the bonus in 2022.

See Also Other News:

• New Legal Framework for Startups: Petrobras Selects Winners, with Investments of R$ 12.9 Million
• Bahia and Rio de Janeiro Receive Solar Energy Projects Funded by Brazilian Cryptocurrency
• MRS Logistics Opens 115 Internship Positions in Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo
• MEC Offers 5,000 Free Online Courses and Distance Learning with Certificates Issued by Its Own Platform

 Instead of the bonus, President Jair Bolsonaro prioritized a budget of R$ 1.7 billion to increase salaries only for federal police officers, in an electoral move for the year he will seek reelection.

The pressure power of the Federal Revenue Service is significant, as a work stoppage by these professionals would represent lower tax collection by the Government. According to data from the Personnel Statistical Panel, a salary for a tax auditor at the Federal Revenue can reach R$ 30,303.62.

Complaints against the priority given by the Government to the salary increase for police officers are also being voiced by other groups of executive branch employees, including even judiciary staff, but the auditors from the Federal Revenue were the only ones to formally approve a strike.

The National Union of Federal Revenue Auditors (Sindifisco) stated that the assembly had the participation of 4,287 members, the largest since 2016. The strike had the support of over 97% of those present.

Operational Plan of the Federal Revenue Service

According to Sindifisco, besides the pressure on the Government, the Operational Plan of the Revenue will also be part of the strike. This plan involves projects related to innovation, computerization, and big data at the Federal Revenue, with the objective of improving oversight and taxpayer service. The union also reported that the implementation of “standard operation” at customs was approved. The entity explained that, in practice, auditors will be more stringent in their procedures, which will delay analyses and hinder customs clearance.

Exceptions are made for medications and medical supplies, live or perishable cargo. Additionally, according to the union, international transit passengers will not be affected by the strike.  

The auditors also opted to increase the resignation of supervisory positions, as had already been happening since Tuesday, after the Budget approval by Congress. So far, 635 employees have resigned from supervisory positions. Since these are civil service positions, this does not mean a resignation from their role, but only that they will cease to perform specific functions.

The union declared that at least 44 Revenue advisers working in the Administrative Board of Fiscal Resources (Carf) have resigned from their positions, which will probably cause a paralysis of the body that judges appeals of billion-dollar tax assessments imposed by the Federal Revenue.

Additionally, 17 tax auditors from the General Coordination of Research and Investigation (Copei), the sector responsible for combating tax evasion, money laundering, and financial crimes, have resigned their positions.

Salary Adjustments

President Jair Bolsonaro held a live broadcast stating that the Executive could use part of the funds the Government allocated for increasing federal police officers’ salaries in the Budget for all employees. According to the president, a linear salary adjustment would result in a 0.6% increase in salaries.