Brazil's federal tax revenues down 5.44pc in January

BRASILIA: Brazil's federal tax revenues reached 125.282 billion reais ($43.73 billion) in January, down 5.44 percent in real terms when compared to the same month last year, the country's tax agency said on Wednesday.

Although Brazil collected 123.667 billion reais in federal tax revenues in January last year inflation has remained stubbornly high, climbing to 7.14 percent last month.

Federal tax revenues amounted to 1.187 trillion billion reais in all of 2014, down 1.79 percent in real terms compared to 2013.

The federal tax agency has not yet made a forecast for tax revenues this year, but analysts believe the country could post another annual drop as the economy contracts despite recent tax increases.

The country collected 115 billion reais in federal taxes in December, according to the agency.