Source: Aduaneiras - São Paulo / SP - 30/03/2010

Taxes

Bureaucratic, tax, political and administrative barriers still prevent investors from opting for the Brazilian economy in comparison with financial markets in China, Russia and India - BRIC countries. According to the analysis by Rosenberg Consultores Associados economist, Felipe Insunza, even after a series of institutional improvements, such as the creation of regulatory agencies and the new bankruptcy law, we are still a country that is not friendly to investment.

The statement is made based on the World Bank's Doing Business 2010 report, in which Brazil dropped two positions between 2009 and this year, going from 127th to 129th.

The other BRIC countries also showed declines in the same survey. China went from 86th to 89th place, while India fell one position (from 132nd to 133rd) and Russia fell from 118th to 120th.

However, two countries are ahead of Brazil in the ranking that includes 183 nations.

For Mackenzie's professor, Francisco Américo Cassano, Brazil attracts and will continue to attract many investors, even as it retreats positions in the report and remains behind China and India. “We can be a country in a worse position for investments, this is a reality because it is stated in the report, but in practice this is not confirmed. As long as we have high interest rates, we will continue to attract capital. Brazil has the highest interest rate in the world and is a nominal interest differential for real interest is very significant. There is no other profitability so high, ”he said.

According to the study, the country carried out reforms in 2008 and 2009 that facilitated the opening of businesses. “Some reforms also require difficult political trade-offs. It is not surprising that most of the reforms recorded by Doing Business were aimed at reducing administrative burdens. At least 30 economies have improved the processes for obtaining construction permits, registering property or trading across borders, while 61 have facilitated the opening of companies, [among them Brazil] ”, presents the international document.

Even with the drop in the general classification, there were advances, said Insunza. “Among the advances recorded by the country, there is a decrease in the number of days needed to open and close a business. In 2004, it took 152 days to open a business in the country and 10 years to close. In 2010, these terms decreased to 120 days and 4 years, respectively. These are still very long terms compared to growth giant China - where it takes just over 1 month to start a business and less than 2 years to close it. ”

He cites an example. “The new bankruptcy law of February 2005. It reduces the difficulty in declaring bankruptcy and initiating the judicial recovery of a company, considerably increasing the creditors' recovery rate, which went from 0,2% in 2004 to 17,1, 2010% in XNUMX. ”

"Opening and closing registration is still complicated, we are improving, but it is still very high, an automatic and less bureaucratic system needs to be analyzed and implemented, we need administrative reform," said Cassano.

However, the negative point that most concerns the interviewees is the bureaucracy and intricacies of business conducted in the country.

“Although we are a legitimate democracy, which makes justice slower compared to dictatorships, it is still very expensive and time consuming to enforce contracts in the country. The costs reach 16,5% of the amount claimed, taking an average of 616 days between filing the complaint and paying the debt, ”said Insunza, adding:“ for foreign trade, our comparison with the other BRIC countries is inconclusive. While it takes less time to import and export goods here, our ports charge fees and tariffs more than 3 times what the Chinese charge and 63% more than the Indians. ”

“Our labor legislation also needs an update, it is from 1940, the world was different. It is not the main barrier, the most negative, however it affects a lot. In comparison with another competitor there is a preference for the next. We lost an Intel factory to Costa Rica, for example, ”concluded Cassano.

Source: Diário do Comércio e Indústria