Tag: Taxes

Read the editorial of the newspaper O Globo about the unexpected effects of the rampant tax increase.

The mistake of raising taxes

 

The tax voracity produces a paradox. As the values ​​increase aiming at a higher collection, the opposite happens.

Whether in times of serious fiscal crisis and recession or even when finances are under control, the Brazilian public manager cannot resist the temptation to make the tax increase permanent. Instead of combating the old vices of waste and swelling of the public machinery and facing the privileges of corporations with strong pressure, it is preferable to sacrifice the taxpayer. No wonder, we have the highest tax burden among emerging countries.

The increase in taxes, however, is a misleading solution. Shot that can backfire. According to calculations by the Brazilian Association to Combat Counterfeiting, the country loses R $ 120 billion a year in tax collection and revenue from companies with pirated products. The biggest loss is with contraband cigarettes: R $ 4,5 billion. Then comes the auto parts sector, with R $ 3 billion; and beverages, R $ 2 billion.

Not by chance, cigarettes and beverages are among the most taxed in the country. In the case of cigarettes, the argument to protect health - in fact a concern that falls to the State - covers the furor of revenue.

But justified health care does not override the free will of the citizen who takes the risk of smoking. And do not leave the habit because of heavy taxation, using contraband cigarettes and contributing to tax evasion. According to the Brazilian Institute of Competition Ethics, the sale of contraband cigarettes in Piauí grew 16% between 2012 and 2015. In Maranhão, the increase was 17%, from 2002 to 2015.

So it is with other products. The tax voracity therefore produces a paradox. As taxes increase, aiming at greater collection, the opposite is true. In several sectors, state interventionism - taxes are part of it - does not produce good results. Who doesn't remember what happened to the computer market reserve? The law created monopolies, high costs for consumers, piracy and technological delays. Without the reserve, prices decreased, thanks to competition. Not to mention the effects in the area of ​​public security, as smuggling is often accompanied by arms and drug trafficking.

As Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles has already stated, Brazil must be able to resolve the fiscal problem without raising taxes. At this point, then, raising taxes would be even more harmful, as experience shows that the measure accentuates the recession. To rekindle the economy, the road is longer. It is necessary to face the privileges of corporations, to convince society of the need for reforms and to combat waste. Undoubtedly laborious. But there is no better alternative.

Source: Jornal O Globo (22/01/2017)

Correio Braziliense holds an event that will debate the “Brazil cost”. sign up

DISCLOSURE SITEThe event Correio Debate: Tax burden in Brazil it will bring together experts and authorities in a dialogue on possible obstacles that hinder the country's development and the paths for the resumption of economic growth. One of the points of the discussion is the so-called “Custo Brasil”, the Brazilian tax system. How much do legally established companies in the country spend (in time and money) to satisfactorily fulfill the obligations imposed by current laws? The structure of the tax system, taxes and their readjustments and the advancement of the illegal market will also be discussed in this round table, among other topics. The event is a realization of Correio Braziliense together with the Brazilian Institute of Competition Ethics (ETCO) and the National Forum against Piracy and Illegality (FNCP). Join this debate by signing up for free here. Vacancies are limited.

When: 20/09/2016

Time: 8h30

Location: Auditorium of the headquarters of BRAZILIAN MAIL in DF

SIG QUADRA 02, No. 340. BRASÍLIA-DF

Programming: click here

 

Taxes and smuggling

EVANDRO GUIMARÃES
Executive President of the Brazilian Institute of Competitive Ethics (ETCO)

Since the 1970s, scholars from around the world have focused on a theory developed by the American economist Arthur Laffer, who refined theoretical concepts about the relationship between the size of the tax burden and its results for the collection of governments. Called the Laffer Curve, the theory shows that it is not possible to increase the taxes infinitely, because, at some point, the collection will start to fall. In Brazil, this moment has already arrived, in several product categories.article

Smuggling and other transgressions are serious problems and, as everyone knows, reduce overall tax revenue. The general increase in taxes, covering products that are very affected by competition with the illegal market, is indefensible. How to defend new increases knowing that this will cause unemployment, affect tax revenues, increase crime and destabilize companies based in Brazil?

The consumer will always continue to look for more economical alternatives. And then, corruption and crime come into play in the form of illegal operations, such as smuggling, counterfeiting, embezzlement and piracy. Criminal agents affect the demand for legal products. Brazilian products, jobs, revenues and collections are exchanged for products that enter our country illegally through borders, ports and airports. This story is being told every day by the media. But we don't seem to learn.

As of the second half of 2014, the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (ETCO), with 70 other entities representing sectors affected by illegality in the country, has been alerting the federal government to a series of problems that are destroying national productive capacity, such as smuggling, embezzlement and counterfeiting.

ETCO and the Movement for the Defense of the Brazilian Legal Market are unable to understand why they should not tackle the problem decisively, disregarding the evasion of R $ 100 billion annually resulting from these illegalities. We also do not understand why high-return operations, such as Agate, are not carried out more frequently, as they increase revenue, arrest criminals and seize drugs.

Take, for example, the case of the tobacco sector. The current tax model raised the IPI of manufacturers installed in the country by 110% in just 4 years. The consequence is there: the uncontrolled advance of cigarette smuggling in Brazil. Over 50% increase in contraband, between 2011 and 2014, made the share of contraband in the Brazilian market reach 34% in 2015, with tax evasion in cigarettes alone, in the period, exceeding R $ 10 billion.

We could mention more sectors with the same problem: drinks, medicines, clothes, software, cinema, optics, among others. The question then remains: what is the logic for the government to continue raising taxes on some categories of products in which the collection seems to be harmed?

All Brazilian society knows that the moment is delicate, and that it is necessary to find a solution to the country's fiscal problem. But there are several alternatives that should also be adopted, more effective than raising taxes. A study recently released by the Institute of Economic and Social Development of Borders (Idesf) maintains that a permanent Agate Operation could increase the collection by R $ 3 billion per year, only with the IPI and the Import Tax.

Part of the Brazilian productive sector is being slaughtered by illegality, and the creation of any additional taxes in product categories, which are already very affected today, will be ineffective if we do not fight against illegality and will bring huge financial losses for companies, for the government itself and for the population. It is up to the authorities to find alternatives that can develop our competitiveness on the international stage and enhance our domestic market.

 

Source: Correio Braziliense (05/10)

Tax Education and Citizenship

Nobody likes to pay taxes. This is a maximum of ten out of ten citizens. The allegations of corruption that consume the pages of newspapers make the issue difficult, since there is no clarity about what is done with public money. The tax contribution, however, is a necessity in a democratic society. For the taxes paid by taxpayers, the government channels resources for the common good: it finances infrastructure works (paving roads and streets, treating the sewage network, expanding and maintaining public lighting, garbage collection; investment in public security, construction and administration of hospitals and public schools, etc.).

Tax evasion is also a form of corruption, as it reduces resources that will generate benefits for the population. In order to create more aware citizens, who can critically evaluate the actions of the state and suggest new strategies, it is that CIEE in partnership with the Federal Revenue, launched this month the distance education (EaD) Fiscal Education course. The idea is to disseminate the importance of concepts through play, meeting a demand among young people. When the student reflects on tax issues, he will be expanding concepts of citizenship and ethics, so important for personal and professional training.

The course is planned for four modules and uses resources to facilitate autonomous learning of what, for many, is an arduous subject, but fundamental for the current days. Follow-up of tutors, activities that simulate everyday life, doubts by e-mails and chats, in addition to the digital handout are some of the teaching resources available. Students also receive a digital certificate at the end of the course.

In addition to tax education, CIEE offers more than 40 free courses for young people who want to improve with a view to placing them in the labor market. Just be registered on the CIEE portal (www.ciee.org.br) and take advantage of the vacation period to recycle.

Luiz Gonzaga Bertelli is chairman of the Board of Directors of the Center for Company-School Integration (CIEE), of the Paulista History Academy (APH) and director of Fiesp.

 

Source: Site Gestão e RH (17/07).

Nintendo announces that it will leave official sale of games in Brazil.

nintendoNintendo "is taking a step back in Brazil to rethink its business model" in the country. So says executive Bill van Zyll, Nintendo’s general manager for Latin America, in an interview with G1, about the end of the official sale of the company's products here. “We see it as a temporary thing. We are not giving up on Brazil, ”he says.

This Friday (9), Big N announced that the Wii U and 3DS consoles and games like “Super Smash Bros.”, “Mario Kart 8” and “The Legend of Zelda” will no longer be imported by Gaming do Brasil, responsible for Nintendo's official distribution in the country.

This means that the sale of the company's products in Brazil will continue only as long as there are items in the distributor's and retail stores' inventories. THE Nintendo attributes its decision to the high import rates.

Source: G1 (09/01)

To read the full story, click here

45% of Brazilians do not know that they pay taxes when shopping

Almost 45% of Brazilians aware that they pay some type of tax in Brazil are unaware, however, that the taxes are embedded in the price of products and services they consume, revealed a survey by Fecomercio-RJ / Ipsos, released exclusively to iG.

The survey also pointed out that Brazilians perceive the incidence of municipal taxes (69%), such as IPTU and taxes on garbage and lighting, much more than indirect taxes, diluted on goods.

“Most of the population is aware of the incidence of taxes paid directly, while most of them forget about taxes diluted in everyday consumption, such as the bus fare, shopping at the supermarket or having dinner at the restaurant,” says Christian Travassos, economist at Fecomércio-RJ.

Among those who know about the incidence, the vast majority think that they pay more taxes for the consumption of items that, in fact, are not the most taxed. Food, electricity bills and clothing were cited by 9 out of 10 people when asked which taxes weigh the most in their pockets.

The percentage embedded in processed foods, for example, varies from 16% to 40%, according to data from the Brazilian Institute of Tax Planning (IBPT). The amount of taxes on the electricity bill reaches 48%, and clothing items have an incidence between 31% and 58%.

Foods that are more essential for consumption, for example, tend to be less taxed. A bag of rice priced at R $ 5 will have R $ 0,85 destined for public coffers (17%). A bottle of mustard, more expendable in the Brazilian dish, has an incidence of 40% on the price paid by the consumer.

Source: Portal iG Economia

Click here and read the full article

Levy & Salomão organizes breakfast on Fiscal War

The law firm Levy & Salomão promotes, next Thursday, August 21, breakfast to discuss the Agreement nº 70/2014 of the National Council of Farm Policy (Confaz), by which 21 States commit to withdraw, in the next years, the ICMS tax benefits granted without the agency's approval and the discussion about the end of the fiscal war was put back on the table.

Entitled “ICMS 70/2014 Agreement: End of the fiscal war?”, The event will be held at the São Paulo office and will include lectures by Levy & Salomão's partner Ana Carolina Monguilod, master from the University of Leiden, Holland, and economist Bernard Appy, director of public policy and taxation at LCA Consultores at LCA Consultores and former executive secretary for economic policy at the Ministry of Finance.

Breakfast will start at 8:30 am and the lectures will take place from 9 am to 10:30 am. Registrations can be made by e-mail: events@levysalomao.com.br