Public Policies
Public policy is an attempt by a government to address a public issue by instituting laws, regulations, decisions, or actions pertinent to the problem at hand. Numerous issues can be addressed by public policy including crime, education, foreign policy, health, and social welfare. Extraction-taxes In Brazil, resident companies are taxed on worldwide income. Foreign branch profits are taxed as earned and foreign subsidiary profits are taxed when distributed or made available. There are foreign tax credits for double taxation. Resident individuals are subject to tax on all income from abroad but are allowed to take credit for the foreign tax paid thereon, provided reciprocal treatment is accorded to Brazilian-source income in the country from which the income is received. Brazil has signed various treaties for the avoidance of double taxation. Fees and other related expenses paid in Brazil for services rendered abroad are subject to withholding tax of 15%, or a lower rate under some tax treaties. Distribution - welfare state The Brazilian Social Security System provides retirement benefits, pensions, health care, and welfare assistance for more than 28 million Brazillians. The model of its social welfare advanced a great deal after the Constitutionof 1988 which reorganized Brazilian legislation for democracy after more than 20 years of military government. One of the fundamental principles in their social security system, “Magna Carta”, is that supportive social security should ensure the maintenance of workers and their families when they cannot sustain themselves. The government also transforms the Social Security System, together with Health and Social Assistance, into a right within the area of social protection. This universal coverage brought millions of people into the system who had previously had restricted coverage, particularly rural workers, who had received benefits only if they were heads of a household. Bolsa Familia is one of the social welfare program that belongs to the Fome Zero network of federal assistance programs. This provides financial aid to poor Brazilian families; if they have children, families must ensure that the infants attend school and are vaccinated. The program attempts to both reduce short-term poverty giving money help directly and fight long-term poverty by increasing human capital among the poor through conditional cash transfers. It also works to give free education to children who cannot afford to go to school to show the importance of education. |
Regulation The Brazilian capital markets and financial systems are regulated and monitored by the National Monetary Council (Conselho Monetário Nacional - "CMN"), the Brazilian Central Bank (Banco Central do Brasil - "Central Bank") and the Brazilian Securities and Exchanges Commission (Comissão de Valores Mobiliários - "CVM"). CMN, the central bank and CVM are primarily responsible for regulating the Brazilian financial and capital markets and for monitoring participants in each market. In accordance with Brazilian regulations, the creation and operation of organized securities markets and custody and settlement systems require prior authorization of the CVM and the Central Bank, depending on the market. Furthermore, those activities and their agents are subject to specific and strict regulatory oversight. Symbolic policies This is a type of policy that defines and reflects social values and upholds governmental principles. These type of policies tend to have no tangible effect on people and typically have involves little or no money. The Brazilian government aimed for achievements in basic education in its country equal to those in the developed world and implemented policies in line with decentralization of the schooling system and improvement of the training of teachers. However, such policies are symbolic in the sense that they may have an appeal to the national population and to the outside world, but are hardly effective. Outcomes - economic development Brazil is the largest country in South America with the maximum population. Today, Brazil economy is on the rise. Blessed with an abundant natural resources, Brazil has become the most powerful country in South America in economic terms and thus is leading the other countries of South America. With large and growing Agricultural, mining, manufacturing and service sectors, Brazil economy ranks highest among all the South American countries and it has also acquired a strong position in global economy. The country was hit by a number of global and internal economic crises. But Brazil economy did not collapse. The reason behind this is the strong Brazilian economy and the economic policies and programs taken up by President Cardoso and strengthened by President Lula Da Silva. Brazil's Gini coefficient has fallen more than five points since 2000, to 0.55. Gini index measures the extent to which the distribution of income (or, in some cases, consumption expenditure) among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. |