TRENDS / DEBATES (Folha de S. Paulo 04/03/03)

By Adib Jatene

The news said that in Sweden the value of traffic tickets varies according to the assets of the person involved. This means that it is greater for those who have greater economic and financial power.

At the same time, television, which broadcast the news, did a quick survey among viewers, and everyone was against this practice, arguing that the amount of the fine should be fixed regardless of the offender's financial condition. This made me reflect on our tax system, on the one hand, and our chronic and institutionalized tax evasion, especially by those with better financial conditions.

First, I refuse to accept that our tax burden is effectively 40% of GDP and that our per capita income fluctuates around US $ 3.000.

I do not know of a country with a per capita income of this level that has the strength that Brazil has today, in all areas, from oil technology, automobile and aeronautical production, to our agriculture and agribusiness, among the most advanced in the world. Nor do I know a country with a tax burden of 40% of GDP with the concentration of income we have in Brazil.

If we consider the appropriate income for the richest 10% and divide it by the appropriate income for the poorest 40%, in countries with a high tax burden, the number oscillates between 1 and 1,4. Sweden itself, as well as Belgium, Holland, Japan, France, Germany, USA and Canada, are just at this level, to name a few. In Brazil, this number is close to 7, which places us among the countries with the highest concentration of income on the planet.

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At the base of our whole problem is corruption, which needs to be tackled at all levels
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Now, how is it possible to concentrate income in this way, if not those who generate it take ownership of it? And how does this appropriation occur, if not withholding exactly those who generate the most income?
Some clues came to mind. We all know that, in Brazil, the vast majority of the population in their daily purchases does not usually ask for invoices. It is unlikely that those who sell without grade will demand full grade in replenishing their stocks. It is also an established practice in real estate transactions to reduce the amount actually paid for the property acquired. Thus, those who buy are exempt from collecting taxes on a considerable portion of the resources and those who sell reduce their real estate profit and stop paying on it.

There is also an enormous influence of the classes of greater economic power on the legislation. It is known that, in order to be elected, any candidate needs to mobilize a financial scheme provided, with or without fraud, by the economic-financial elite, which, as a result, influences the decisions of parliamentarians.

I remember that when the CPMF was regulated in 1996, an article was included that prohibited the Federal Revenue Service from using CPMF information for the purpose of Income Tax. It was necessary that the secretary of Revenue, at the time Everardo Maciel, demonstrate that, out of the hundred largest contributors to the CPMF, at least 62 had never paid IR, and there was a micro company that, by definition, could not handle more than R $ 120 thousand per year and that moved R $ 100 million. As a result, the IRS managed in Congress to eliminate the prohibition to cross information - which almost tripled the collection.

Someone will say: just inspect.
I find it unnecessary to discuss this detail when judges and even judges are accused of selling judicial and tax decisions and are under arrest for sending millions of dollars to accounts abroad. It turns out that there is part of society that seeks to correctly pay their taxes and, for them, the burden becomes high, because economic activity does not provide them with an opportunity for profit corresponding to the investment they make to exist. There are suffocated service providers, while some boast a standard of living as if they lived in countries with a per capita income of $ 30.
Thus, the government's collection of 40% of the official GDP does not correspond to the needs of the population, which generates much higher real GDP. The difference is entirely appropriate for those who generate the resource on which no tax is payable. This is what causes income concentration and prevents proper distribution. And, while maintaining tax evasion and all accounting devices supported by legislation that benefits them, they still demand a reduction in tariffs that could only be done if there was a miraculous interruption of tax evasion at all levels.

The consequence of this reasoning is that, at the base of our entire problem, is corruption, which needs to be tackled at all levels.

Fortunately, the country is waking up to this reality. Sectors of business and society, the media, the Public Ministry and many others, have been moving. A recent survey of 231 municipalities showed that only 10% had no irregularities in their accounts, 30% had irregularities due to administrative errors and in 60% the errors were the result of corruption.

Society participation and vigilance over the elected is indispensable, avoiding electing those who are or have been involved in corruption. Only in this way will we be able to have tax justice and move towards unequally taxing unequal - a unique means, alongside the fight against corruption, capable of improving the distribution of income and adjusting the capture of public resources, not on official GDP, but on real GDP. .

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Adib D. Jatene, 74, cardiovascular surgeon, is professor emeritus at USP's School of Medicine and director-general of Hospital do Coração. He was Minister of Health (Collor and FHC governments) and Secretary of Health of the State of São Paulo (Maluf government).