Brazil spends 4.1% of GDP to pay interest and public debt charges in 2018

A report by the Federal Audit Office (TCU) shows that in 2018 the federal government spent $ 279.6 billion on interest and debt charges. The figure represents 10.1% of all committed expenditures (R $ 2.7 trillion) and 4.1% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

Gross debt, which accounts for the liabilities of federal, state and municipal governments, rose in March, according to data from the Central Bank (BC), released 30.Apr.2019 to R$ 5.431 trillion. The value corresponded to 78.4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP, the sum of all goods and services produced in the country), 0.9 percentage points more than in February. This ratio between debt and GDP is the highest in the historical series, which began in December 2001.

The same report indicates that tax waiver reached R$ 314.2 billion, corresponding to 25.6% of net primary revenue and 4.6% of GDP. According to the TCU, the waiver of social security contributions surpassed R$ 62 billion in 2018.