Questão 1125261

For questions 21-24 below, choose the answer which best fits the ideas in the text.

Brazil: One Growth Obstacle after Another

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After just eight months in office, President Luiz

Inácio Lula da Silva of the left-wing Workers' Party

has won congressional approval for economically

critical and politically controversial pension and tax

reforms. Now, however, da Silva faces a bigger

challenge: reviving Brazil's economy.

In 2003's first half, Brazil's economy fell into

recession. Most economists expect growth for the

entire year to be a miserly 1%. And a government

linked research group recently embarrassed

ministers by predicting growth of just 0.5% in 2003.

Taxes are a serious obstacle to growth. Brazil's tax

burden is among the highest in the world, equal to

41.7% of salaries. Reforms now proceeding

through Congress will simplify the tax system, but

won't reduce the total burden. That will be possible

only if interest rates fall and the government can

keep spending in check, thereby reducing the

amount of money needed to pay its own debts. For

now, Brazil's economy is going nowhere.

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(By Jonathan Wheatley in São Paulo – adapted. From:

Business Week September 10, 2003)

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The advantage of the proposed tax reform measures is