Source: DCI, 05/12/2007

The governor of São Paulo, José Serra (PSDB), told an audience of businessmen that it is necessary to eliminate national culture from the “Brazilian way”. Serra gave the statements yesterday, at the University of São Paulo, when he spoke about the tax issues in the country. “We are doing in São Paulo a work to combat fraud and evasion. The Nota Fiscal Paulista program has been a success in this regard, when it encourages consumers to demand the establishment's invoice. It is estimated that 60% of tax evasion is from retail. ”

The governor, who opened the seminar promoted by the Instituto de Ética Concorrencial (Etco), also pointed out a way to reduce taxes. "Reducing tax evasion means reducing the tax burden per capita". Serra avoided confirming whether his recent conversations with the toucan bench in the Senate had the intention of convincing parliamentarians to vote for the extension of the CPMF (Provisional Contribution under Financial Transactions). According to him, the conversations were aimed at "exchanging ideas" and "seeing where the debates stand".

Also present at the seminar that discussed alternatives to improve the business environment with ethics, former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso argued that it is necessary to regulate forms of transgressions such as tax evasion. "As long as there is no control over tax evasion, companies will continue to not pay taxes, as they know there will be no punishment."

The former president also stated that it is Brazilian culture to cover up transgressions of any kind. “Our culture tends to accept transgressions. An example of this is the reelection of deputies and senators who were involved in some judicial process ”. For Cardoso, society still does not believe in democracy and that the law applies to everyone. “The population believes that there is the law of the rich and the law of the poor. We do not introject the idea of ​​democracy and without it there is no other form of equality ”.

Third term

A pre-candidate for the presidency of the Republic, Serra stated that there is no possibility of a third term to succeed in the country and that the proposal is “without a head or a head”. “President Lula himself is against a third term. I believe what he is saying and I have no reason to doubt, not least because he is an intelligent man, ”said the governor, who also commented on the attempted changes to Venezuela's Magna Carta. “I was very happy with the result of the Venezuelan plebiscite. We must not meddle in the business of another country, but that does not prevent me from being satisfied when I see that the population has said yes to democracy ”.

Seminar

The seminar promoted by Etco brought experts to discuss solutions and suggest practices for improving the business environment. “A good environment thrives on good rules that are respected. Tax evasion, informality and other misconduct create competition imbalances ”, says André Franco Montoro Filho, Etco's executive president. The strategy of pluralizing laws and experimental laws were ideas defended by experts Joaquim Falcão and Marcílio Moreira, as practical solutions for improving the business environment.