RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro met last Monday, April 27th, at the Planalto Palace with Federal Deputy David Soares, son of the evangelical pastor R. R. Soares, and with the Special Secretary of the Federal Treasury, José Barroso Tostes Neto.
At the closed meeting, the President demanded a solution for churches’ debts with the tax authorities. Bolsonaro has already ordered the economic team to “settle the matter,” but the tug-of-war continues due to Federal Treasury resistance.
A potential debt pardon would be detrimental to public accounts. The ‘Igreja Internacional da Graça de Deus’ (International Church of the Grace of God), founded by R. R. Soares (with whom the President has met on other occasions), has accumulated R$144 million in tax debts that can be executed – the third-largest in a list of debtors that adds up to R$1.6 billion.
The same church has two other proceedings underway in the CARF, the Federal Administrative Tax Court, involving fines of R$44 million.
In a video posted on social media in October 2016, Soares is featured at an event alongside former Rio state deputy Eduardo Cunha, currently imprisoned after being convicted in Operation Lava Jato, quoting fines levied on churches that totaled R$600 million by 2014.
The President’s order was received by the economic team as yet another attempt by the President to interfere in the internal affairs of a body to serve his constituency. Last week, Sérgio Moro stepped down from office, accusing the President of demanding confidential investigation reports from the Federal Police, and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office launched an inquiry to investigate an order by Bolsonaro to overturn Army ordinances.
Attempts to interfere with the Treasury have already resulted in political crises. In the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration, the then Minister of State Chief of Staff of Dilma Rousseff was accused by the cabinet secretary Lina Vieira of asking to relax an investigation involving the Sarney family. Lina left office and Dilma was forced to explain herself to Congress.
This is not the first time that Bolsonaro has tried to force the Treasury to reconsider church fines. Marcos Cintra, the ex-secretary of Treasury, told sources that not yielding to this order was one of the reasons for his leaving office.
Deputy David Soares preferred not to comment on the meeting with the President which was included on his official agenda. “This is a meeting with the President, I have nothing to declare,” he said.
The International Church of God’s Grace failed to return calls before publication of the story. The Planalto did not answer the questions sent to its Secretariat of Communication. The Treasury said it would not comment.