Reduções tributárias no setor agropecuário: quem ganha? quem perde?

Abstract

Lower tax rates in the agricultural sector are often indicated as an example ofpolicies that benefit low-income individuals. In this paper, I use a computable general equilibrium model to evaluate the impact ofsuch a policy in Brazil. Itis found, first, that by increasing landowners' rents the policy would tend to reinforce the country's income concentration. Nonetheless, because ofthe changes in the economy's relative prices, and in particular the lowering ofthe agricultural goods prices due to the policy, the 10% ofthe population with lowest income would be indeed the group benefiting the most from it. This would occur because that group is, in proportion to its own income, the main consumer group of agricultural goods. It is also found, however, that the policy would cause a non-negligible reduction ofthe tax revenue collected by the government.