RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s lower house has approved exempting up to 5,000 reais ($940) a month from income taxes, which would more than double the current exemption and meet a key priority of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ‘s 2022 election campaign.

The bill passed the House unanimously late Wednesday and will now head to the Senate, where Lula said he expects final approval for the measure, which has drawn broad public support.

Lula described the vote on X as: “A victory in favor of tax justice and the fight against inequality in Brazil, benefiting 15 million Brazilian workers.”

In the bill sent to Congress in March, Lula’s leftist government proposed to offset the loss of state revenue by introducing a minimum effective tax rate for high-income individuals — a tax that must b

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