Senate Pres.-Congress 'Will Not Be Hurdle To Gov'ts Economic Agenda'

Wires carrying comments from President of the Senate Rodrigo Pacheco stating that it is still possible for the Senate to vote on the gov'ts tax reform bill in October. Says that the Congress "will not be a hurdle for the gov'ts economic agenda." Pacheco hails from the centrist Social Democratic Party (PSD) a key component of the moderate Centrão.bloc of parties that supports President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's gov't.

• The lower house approved the main text of the reform in June, sending the legislation on to the Senate. The Brazilian Report wrote regarding the reform that it "...will gradually merge Brazil's many layered consumption taxes into a single VAT. Legal and economic experts are almost unanimous in affirming that, once fully implemented, the new system will boost potential GDP growth and substantially reduce the cost of doing business in the country."