Ana Amélia defends the creation of new public policies to fight crime

The tolerance of Brazilians to trade in pirated products and the excessive tax burden on goods of legal origin in Brazil are some of the causes behind the increase in smuggling in the country, according to Senator Ana Amélia (PP-RS).

In the case of piracy, the senator - who spoke during the seminar on Security and Development, organized by Folha, sponsored by ETCO (Brazilian Institute of Competition Ethics) - gave as an example the clandestine pay-TV service, also known as “gatonet” . Ana Amélia defined the practice as a misappropriation of a resource that belongs to companies. The senator is the rapporteur of a bill that imposes a fine on anyone who uses a pirated cable TV set-top box. "You can't outsource ethics, ask that only members of Congress be ethical, and continue to buy pirated products or do illegal things under the hood," he said. Another reason that contributes to the growth of the illegal market in the country, according to her, is the excess of regulation and taxes that fall on products legally traded in the country. She cited as examples pesticides and agricultural machinery that, even produced in Brazil, are sold at lower prices in neighboring countries. According to the senator, there is also a lack of resources, both financial and technological, for a more adequate defense of national borders. There would be a positive cost-benefit for the economy of greater investment in the area, since smuggling is an increasingly damaging factor for trade in the country, according to her. Ana Amélia, who is co-author of a project that raises the penalty for the crime of smuggling with Senator Raimundo Lira (PMDB-PB), defended the creation of new public policies to fight crime and also a new vision of public administration in relation to the losses caused by the high tax burden.

“We have to face this, at the risk of seeing more and more what is happening today in Rio de Janeiro [the state is undergoing federal intervention to curb violence]. If you join the dots, you get to the same source of the problem: lack of resources and understanding between institutions, ”he said.

Source: Folha de São Paulo (20/03/2018)