The government is focusing its efforts on improving work quality for small- and medium-sized businesses and the self-employed, because it knows that the potential for job growth is highest within these two groups. When doubts mounted during the recovery, these companies and people had to trim their debt load, which prevented them from investing in new talent.
For this reason, the Finance Ministry has added some amendments to its tax bill going through Congress right now. It will try to lower personal income tax withholding gradually from 21% to 18% in 2016. This is a one-point reduction each year and answers loud complaints from this subset of workers that argued the government's first tax reform plan would have zero real impact.
