Dare to innovate
Author: Guilherme Afif Domingos
Source: Folha de S. Paulo, 12/12/2007
INFORMALITY, both from companies and from the workforce, accounts for a
immense portion of the Brazilian economy.
In the State of São Paulo alone, there are about 1,3 million entrepreneurs
formal and 3,2 million informal entrepreneurs. They are painters, masons,
plumbers, swimming pools, electricians, street vendors, dressmakers, hairdressers and
a wide range of occupations that could develop in formality if the
framing the existing bureaucracy did not prevent formalization.
Roberto Campos, one of the most lucid and cultured Brazilian economists,
classified the informal into two types: accidentally informal - who live
licit activities, but virtually prevented from formalizing by
legal difficulties; and those vocationally informal - who are the ones who cannot
formalize because their activities are illegal, such as organized crime,
selling stolen goods, piracy etc.
This makes it difficult to combat organized crime, as many activities
informal groups mix and it is difficult to define who is in the informality
because of the bureaucracy and those who are informal because they work illegally.
Bureaucracy places Brazil as one of the worst places in the world in terms of
support for entrepreneurship, which led Governor José Serra to create the
State Bureaucratization Program (PED), whose primary mission is to
reduce to a maximum of 15 days the period for opening and closing micro and
Small business.
This decision will reduce informality and improve
perception of external entrepreneurs about the conditions to invest in Brazil.
Decree 52.228, of October 5, which regulated the complementary law
123/06, created the Poupatempo do Empreendedor Portal, which will unify the registrations
of all prefectures with that of the State and this, in turn, with that of the Union,
that will enable micro and small entrepreneurs to open a company through
internet, without having to make the “via-crucis” from distribution to distribution.
Four were the principles that guided this decree: reduce bureaucracy for
computerize; cheapen to formalize; believe in the citizen to make it faster;
dare to innovate.
Currently, in Brazil, bureaucracy is being computerized. As i would say
Roberto Campos, is “improving the obsolete”. To avoid this, the role of the
management committee created by the decree of mr. governor has the mission of first
first, reduce all the bureaucracy of the processes to, only later,
computerization, which will give considerable gains in time and paper, both for the
State and taxpayers.
The Poupatempo do Empreendedor portal will be operational in January 2009,
but let's anticipate important things. This is the case with the creation of the MEI figure
(Individual Microentrepreneur), which has not been properly analyzed and
commented, despite its importance revealed by statistics.
Provided for in the General Law of Micro and Small Enterprises, the MEI is that little one
entrepreneur who invoices up to R $ 3 thousand per month -or up to R $ 36 thousand per year-, which
encompasses about 3,2 million people who make their living from
individual activities or very small size.
From the first quarter of 2008, the MEI has already started to be implemented in
the entire state.
He has no accounting, does not issue invoices, his creation will take place only
in the municipality and without signature recognition, but will pay the tax, yes. Not
will be exempt. The rate is the same as for Simples - about 4% of the billing over the
income declared by him-, and payment will be made through a booklet, in 12
months.
With that, he is legalized. This booklet, with its declared income
and the tax paid, represents the work card, the pay stub, so that it
obtain credit for their investment and consumption needs, making
with him to enter the “hall” of the citizen with rights and without fear of being consumed
bureaucracy.
This is the silent revolution that will be happening
from next year, without boasting. Just check it out.
GUILHERME AFIF DOMINGOS, 64, entrepreneur, is secretary of Employment and
Labor Relations of the State of São Paulo and president of the State Committee for
Red tape.
