Brazil has undertaken major adjustments in its fiscal policy since the currency crisis in Asia and Russia 1997-98. These have included the tightening of control over current expenditure; measures to increase revenue, for example through the introduction of financial taxes; and the continuation of institutional and structural reforms aimed at greater fiscal discipline and stability in public finance.
The specific targets have been achieved, and the fiscal results in general have been very positive:
(a) the primary surplus of the consolidated public sector was 4.8% of GDP in 2005.
(b) the nominal public sector deficit dropped from 9.5% of GDP in 1999 to 3% in 2005.