Soraya Thronicke_União Brasil.jpeg
Proposals for the Amazon

Soraya again defends a single tax to generate jobs

União Brasil candidate for the Presidency of the Republic was interviewed by journalists from the Amazon

O Liberal

11/09/2022

Senator and candidate to the Presidency Soraya Thronicke (União Brasil) answered, on Friday, 9, to the interview "Proposals for the Amazon - Round of Interviews with the candidates to the Presidency of the Republic", a project of Grupo Liberal in partnership with eight media from the states of the Legal Amazon. In the interview, the senator said that before demarcating more indigenous lands it is necessary to give conditions to the people who already have demarcated areas. She promised the teachers income tax exemption and that the single tax will not mean a loss in tax collection.

  Click here to read the full transcription of the interview

In Friday's interview, Thronicke was asked about the insecurity of navigation, due to the boat accident that killed 18 people near the Cotijuba island, in Pará. She said she was shocked and saddened and said that the accident with a clandestine vessel shows the lack of inspection in the Amazon. She observed that facts like this can interfere with tourism in the region. 

For the senator, in the environmental issue, it is not possible to advance without planning that begins with land title regularization "to separate the wheat from the chaff, because with titled areas we can identify who the owners are, to be able to separate who produces legally and who reproduces illegally, being able to hold these people responsible". 

Asked about the Amazon Fund, which has its resources frozen by European countries, she said that today "the world is aware of what the Amazon is, but the Amazon is ours. And our sovereignty has to be respected. About the fund itself, she explained that she was part of the government's base and that it was explained to her that the countries were not accountable for the resources or if the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that received them were doing serious work. But she pointed out that today this transparency is lacking in the federal government, "which needs to give us an answer". 

Click on the video settings icon below to watch the video with automatically generated English subtitles:

INDIGENOUS - Soraya Thronicke also talked about the indigenous issue and land demarcation. She said that indigenous communities have been left to their own devices by the governments: "I go to villages. I see a very big state of poverty, of vulnerability. There are places where they don't have water; they couldn't get water to the houses, so they complain, and I see that."

Thronicke said that she has made many criticisms in relation to "taking autonomy from essential bodies, not believing in government bodies that have shown they can extract reliable data for all of us. And then we get into this issue of indigenous territory." 

"What I have seen is that they decide public policies for certain sectors, for a certain part of the population, without really talking to this population. Of course they have spokespersons, they have their leaders. But it happens that some leaders, as happens in the indigenous community itself, are already politically involved, so they often think of themselves and not of the indigenous people", she highlighted. 

According to the candidate, the indigenous population has to do what they want and not what others want them to do. "First question is that all indigenous people are Brazilians and, just like us, they have the right to preserve their culture, to do everything they have always done. But also, concomitantly, to work and to prosper. It seems that there is some brake, some handbrake that doesn't allow them to develop", he said. 

HEALTH - About health, Soraya affirmed that it is necessary to end the queues at the Single Health System (SUS), which got bigger due to the attention to the control of the covid-19 pandemic. But she says that confronting the disease has also pointed to some solutions, such as telemedicine and the role of the private sector.  "We have to continue adding the private initiative, which has an idle part, and can be complemented by the public power". She said that within the government's plan of União Brasil, "we will give deadlines for the public power to comply with the execution of consultations, exams, surgeries. If these deadlines are not met, the person will receive a voucher so that he can be seen by the private sector. 

The União Brasil candidate also defended the creation of infrastructure in the Amazon and in Brazil, with the development of more railroads and investment in waterways. 

In public security, she affirmed that it is fundamental for the Federal Police to be autonomous, and promised that she would fight for a term of office for the general director of the agency that does not coincide with that of the president of the Republic. 

Thronicke also explained her government's main proposal, the single tax, replacing 11 federal taxes with a single tax of 1.26 "to create new jobs" and without loss of revenue, because, according to her, there would only be a redistribution, making those who move more money pay more and those who move less, pay less. 

She also promised that companies that are in the active debt can exchange the debt for job generation. Still in the economic area, she said that whoever earns up to 5 minimum wages would be exempt from Income Tax, and that the entire salaried population would no longer pay INSS. "Who earns up to R$ 6,060 will no longer have those discounts on the payroll, Income Tax and Social Security. This money will go entirely and liquidly into the worker's pocket. And, this way, we intend to reheat the economy", she said. 

The senator also said again that in an eventual government of hers, all teachers would be exempt from income tax.

Other interviews - Before Soraya Thronicke, Felipe D'Avila (Novo) and Ciro Gomes (PDT) were interviewed. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) alleged schedule incompatibility and cancelled the interview. The interview with candidate Jair Bolsonaro (PL) initially scheduled for September 12, was rescheduled for September 26, at the same time, in response to a request from the candidate's advisors. After that, the candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's advisors will also be given, again, the possibility of choosing a new date. The interview with Pablo Marçal (PROS), who, despite having his candidacy denied by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) had affirmed that he would appeal until the last instance, was canceled after Marçal announced, last weekend, that he decided now to run for federal deputy for São Paulo. The interview scheduled for September 14, with Simone Tebet (MDB), also was postponed for a date still to be decided, in response to a request from the candidate's advisors.

The interviews start at 12:30pm, last for an hour and are broadcast live on OLiberal.com, Radio Liberal FM and social networks. Besides Grupo Liberal, the following media outlets are participating in the series: Imirante, from Maranhão; A Crítica, from Amazonas; Diário da Amazônia, from Rondônia; Gazeta do Cerrado, from Tocantins; Gazeta Digital, from Mato Grosso; Roraima em Tempo; Gazeta do Acre; and Diário do Amapá. Each vehicle asks each candidate a question, and all interviews are interpreted in Brazilian sign language.