Source: Last Second - SP - ECONOMY - 10/08/2009

At the ceremony in which he signed the tax substitution agreement with the Bahian government, in Salvador, the São Paulo governor, José Serra (PSDB), said that those who pay all taxes end up playing the role of “muggle” in comparison with those who do not pay. "I think the tax burden is exaggerated, and it is even greater for those who pay taxes," he believes.

“A majority of, let's say, muggles (making quotation marks with their fingers) are paying for a minority that doesn't pay. We are working to end this. ”

As he explained, with the signed agreement, companies in São Paulo that send goods from seven sectors (toys, bicycles, cleaning supplies, pharmaceuticals, hot drinks, building materials and stationery) to Bahia, or vice versa, will do the retention and payment of the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS). The State of origin of the products, then, will pass on to the other the equivalent of the tax that would be paid in all stages of commercialization until the sale to the final consumer.

According to the calculations of the Finance Departments of the two States, the procedure will result in an annual reduction in tax evasion by at least R $ 50 million, in the case of São Paulo, and R $ 70 million, in the case of Bahia. “With this extra R $ 70 million, I will see if I will inaugurate a project in honor of São Paulo”, joked the Bahian governor, Jaques Wagner (PT). At the meeting between the governors, both preached the need to carry out tax reform.