Tag: Informality

Without makeup: the work of a million cosmetics dealers

In her first book, sociologist Ludmila Costhek Abílio, a professor at PUC-Campinas, investigates the work of cosmetic resellers in the Brazilian beauty industry. The starting point of this innovative study is an army of approximately 1 million resellers (equivalent to the population of the city of Campinas-SP), responsible for the commercial success of one of the most important and recognized cosmetics companies in the country, Natura. Anchored in a rich field study, the researcher proposes an original approach to informal women's work within a segment called the Direct Sales System.

In addition to analyzing aspects of production and distribution of the company and the informal economy, the author traces the socioeconomic profile of the resellers, their motivations and how they relate to work and the company. For this, he interviewed from cleaning women to senior executives, to teachers, housewives and even a delegate from the Federal Police, who sells cosmetics in the corporation's own building.

At the end of the research, Ludmila found a certain ambiguity in the relationship of these women with the company, since they begin to sell their products in order to consume them. He also realized that in this dynamic of work, the employer transfers the risks to the resellers, such as customer default, without giving them a guarantee of income, while encouraging them to invest in stocks that may never be sold.

Within the context that makes resellers become lively advertising for products, their personal social capital becomes a means to leverage the company's profits; one of the central points of the discussion raised by the sociologist concerns the indistinities between working and non-working time, the current forms of subjective worker involvement. This blurring of the boundaries between production and consumption, inseparable from social and cultural influences, is a new phenomenon, as is the loss of the centrality of work.

Source: Carta Maior Portal

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Penalty for those who do not register a formal employee

The Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE) closed the siege against employers who keep domestic workers informal. After defining a minimum fine of R $ 805,06 for the boss who does not sign the license, the portfolio published a rule that defines how the inspection of labor relations will be carried out. Experts estimate that the measures taken by the government are important to guarantee the rights of employees.

Published on 07/08, in the Federal Official Gazette, Normative Instruction 110 defines that labor auditors will carry out an indirect inspection, based on complaints and information. They will send a postal notification, with time, date and place at which the bosses must appear to prove their employment relationship. Employers will be required to provide a copy of the Work Permit with the employee and contract details.

Anyone who is unable to attend may nominate another member of the family, provided they are at least 18 years old. Employers who fail to comply with the notification will be fined and respond to an administrative proceeding. Auditors will still be able to visit the home where informal work is suspected. After presenting their Tax Identity Card (CIF), they can enter the residence with the employer's written consent.

Source: Mail Braziliense

Social programs helped curb rising poverty in Brazil

The 2014 Human Development Report, released last Thursday, 24/07, by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), argues that the expansion of public spending and social programs helped Brazil to prevent the return of most vulnerable sections of the population into poverty after the 2008 global economic crisis.

According to the document, the countercyclical policy (increased public spending in times of low economic growth), income transfer programs and the minimum wage appreciation policy made the consumption of the poorest 40% of the population continue to grow in higher than the population average.

For the president of UNDP in Brazil, Jorge Chediek, the strategy of increasing public spending to contain economic crises should have been followed by the richest countries. “We recommend the adoption of countercyclical policies in times of economic instability. Revenue was not followed in developed countries, which cut spending and worsened unemployment, and the vulnerability of the population ”, he compared.

According to Andréa Bolzon, coordinator of the Human Development Atlas in Brazil, aid to the poorest populations was not limited to social programs. The expansion of credit and the appreciation of the minimum wage helped to maintain the formalization of the labor market by stimulating domestic consumption.

“Worldwide, there is a tendency for jobs to fall and informality to increase. Brazil is one of the few countries to register an increase in employment and a decrease in informal work between 2007 and 2010 ”, pointed out Andréa.

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Research reveals: worker does not know how to formalize

A study carried out by SPC Brasil and the National Confederation of Shopkeepers shows that half of Brazilian informal workers do not know what to do to regularize their business.

Applied among informal workers from all Brazilian capitals, the survey, recently published, shows that 49% of the interviewees do not know what to do to regularize their own business. The worrying data reveals that the measures adopted by the government to facilitate the formalization of small entrepreneurs need to have greater dissemination.

Conducted with the aim of observing the behavior of entrepreneurs working in the informal market and identifying the reasons for informality, the study also revealed that 46% of informal workers have never heard, for example, about the Individual Microentrepreneur (MEI). This type of formalization is aimed at people who earn up to R $ 5 per month, exactly the profile of 97% of the traders and service providers interviewed. The survey revealed that informal workers earn, on average, R $ 1.305,00 per month. Altogether, 59% work in commerce and 41% in the service sector.

When asked about the main reasons for staying illegally, the most frequent responses were the high cost and bureaucracy to open a formal business. In the opinion of the President of the National Confederation of Shopkeepers (CNDL), Roque Pellizzaro Junior, this only reinforces the fact that they are really unaware of the regularization tools.

The survey also reveals that three out of five (61%) informal workers intend to make investments in their own business this year. However, 75% say that, for this, they will have to put their hand in their own pocket, while only 14% will resort to banks or finance companies. Most say they want to expand the activity, but do not intend to formalize it because they say they fear bureaucracy, a drop in income and new costs.

The Financial Manager of SPC Brasil, Flávio Borges, explains that, by remaining in hiding, the informal worker cannot obtain credit in financial institutions and misses the opportunity to expand his own business. "In addition, they no longer have access to benefits such as the right to retirement, maternity benefits, issuing invoices or the possibility of having a registered employee", he argues.

With the data in hand, representatives of CNDL and SPC Brasil will present the study to the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae), to discuss ways to intensify the work of clarifying these informal workers. "The idea is to join forces and assist them in the excellent work they already do for society," said Pellizzaro Junior.

612 informal self-employed entrepreneurs (without registration in the National Register of Legal Entities) from the trade and services sectors in the 27 Brazilian capitals were heard for the survey.

(with information from the Press Office / SPC Brasil)

 

 

PEC gives more rights to domestic workers, but informal are still the majority

Source: G1

Ibre / FGV researcher says that informality should increase with the law.
Secretariat of Policies for Women and the union bet on regularization.

Approved last Tuesday (26) by the Senate, the so-called PEC of domestic workers gives more rights to professionals in the category. According to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), however, most of these workers are still informal.

Of every ten domestic workers, only three were registered in the employment card, according to data from the National Household Sample Survey (Pnad) of 2011. The informality rate among these employees reaches 69%, and is even higher among women , which are more than 93,6% of this market. For them, informality is 70,7%, against 53% among men.

Domestic workers - formalization (Photo: Editoria de Arte / G1)

The data takes into account workers such as drivers, caregivers, monthly employees and even day laborers, forming a universe of 6,6 million workers.

According to the Union of Employees and Domestic Workers of São Paulo (Sindoméstica-SP), informality among monthly workers reaches 63%, with the other 47% having a portfolio.

“It is one of the most informal sectors of the economy, for sure”, says Fernando de Holanda Barbosa Filho, professor at the Brazilian Institute of Economics of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (Ibre / FGV).

Informality is even more pronounced in the Northeast region, where only 14% of domestic workers have a formal contract, against 36% in the Southeast.

Between 2001 and 2011, the formalization rate among domestic workers grew by 31,8%, while the number of domestic workers grew by 11,95%. Between 2009 and 2011, the rate rose by only 3 percentage points, from 26,4% to 29,3%, a difference considered small by the National Secretary for the Evaluation of Policies and Economic Autonomy of Women, of the Secretariat of Policies for Women of the Presidency of the Republic, Tatau Godinho.

Greater or lesser formalization?
Tatau believes, however, that the formalization will increase with the Domestic PEC.

“The expectation is that the legislation will increase formalization because we believe that there is an increase in the recognition in Brazilian society that this is a right”, says Tatau. “I do not believe it will decrease, even because those who are very afraid are because they do not comply with what they already have today.

The same opinion has the president of Sindoméstica-SP, Eliana Gomes Menezes: “it should improve because the boss will respect employees more. Today, several people came to ask questions about how to formalize ”, he says.

But researcher Fernando de Holanda Barbosa Filho, from Ibre, believes that PEC das Domésticas will increase the degree of informality in the market due to the increase in labor costs. “Regarding the law, what is observed is that it tends to increase informality, possibly there will be an exchange (from housekeepers to day laborers), replacing one type with another. The government is going to anticipate a natural process, since this work was being reduced, but it would take some years ”, says Barbosa.

The average salary of domestic workers is increasing at a high pace between 2009 and 2011, according to PNAD. The increase was 18% for workers with a formal contract and 29,7% for those without a formal contract.

The researcher, who develops the Underground Economy Index (IES) in partnership with the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (Etco), believes that the adjustment will not be immediate; it should happen gradually.

For the Secretariat of Policies for Women of the Presidency of the Republic, the number of domestic workers in the country is already decreasing, partly because women seek other forms of work and partly because families are organizing in another way.

Citing the reduction from 12% to less than 3% in the number of domestic workers who lived in the house where they work, between 1995 and 2009, Tatau Godinho sees a “brutal change in labor relations, domestic life, division of labor between women and men ”. "Society is learning to agree with a relationship that is not servile, it is work".

Formalization moves the patchwork and related arts market

Source: SEGS - National Insurance & Health Portal - 09/09/2012
 
 
Since July 2009, the Federal Government's Individual Microentrepreneur (MEI) program has been in place, which has been providing significant increases in revenue for more than half of the entrepreneurs who are formalized. According to data from the Brazilian Institute of Economics of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (Ibre / FGV) and the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (ETCO), the Brazilian informal economy decreased for the eighth consecutive year.
 
For the consultant at Sebrae / PR, Claudinei Guilherme, this change in the economic scenario can be explained by the facilities that formalization has on the micro-entrepreneur business. “The sharp reduction in informality is due to the increase in the letter of credit made available by financial institutions. To have access to the system, it is necessary for the entrepreneur to formalize ”, he explains.
 
The expansion of formal employment is not only characterized by easy access to credit lines, but also by the collection of taxes at reduced rates and social security benefits. "The entrepreneur's greatest concern is to be able to expand his business and this is motivated by added values, such as being able to issue invoices, sell his products to other companies and collect INSS", says Guilherme.
 
Craft market
 
In the last 10 years, the national craft consumption market has been expanded and has become a benchmark for business opportunities. “Before, the profile of quilters was that of a person passionate about manual arts. However, nowadays, many become artists on occasion, starting activities without commercial interest, just for the purpose of distracting and meeting people. And, in the end, with the encouragement and appreciation of family and friends, they become professional and become entrepreneurs in the segment ”, explains Emília Aoki, promoter of the Quilt & Craft Show.
 
Patchwork and related arts are no longer just hobbies and have started to contribute to the good economic indexes in the country. An unofficial survey carried out with the exhibitors of the 2nd Quilt & Craft Show pointed to a 20% growth in the segment, in South Region, compared to last year. Despite this, high demand suffers from the scarcity of domestic industrial production. “The market for patchwork and other art techniques with fabric, grew rapidly and Brazilian industries were unable to keep up with this pace. To meet demand, it is necessary to import foreign products ”, declared Emilia Aoki.
 
The formalization of small artisans, in this sense, would not only benefit the entrepreneur, but would heat up the production of inputs on a large scale. "Getting out of informality is important for the small business owner, as it facilitates the acquisition of raw materials, at wholesale, and develops the industry itself, increasing the number of suppliers", says Aoki.
 
Change of plans
 
It was by following other paths that the businesswoman Eliane Castelan left the primary dream of being a nurse to become an artist in the patchwork technique. After a period of five years, living in France, Eliane got to know manual arts and developed her skills. "In 1988, I went to live in France and started taking patchwork classes, an activity that, since then, has been part of my life and is my main source of income".
 
Upon returning to Brazil, the businesswoman informally taught classes and marketed her products for a long period. However, seven years ago, she started her own company and today she generates jobs for 14 people, directly and indirectly. “From the moment I formalized my business, I had a significant return on sales and attracting students and I was able to expand my staff. I know that I can't stop because other people depend on this job ”, he concludes.
 
To learn more about how to formalize a business, Sebrae will maintain a stand throughout the 2nd Quilt & Craft Show, which takes place from September 05th to 08th, at Expo Unimed Curitiba. More information on the website: www.quiltshow.com.br.

The good news, a warning and taxes

Source: The State of S. Paulo (São Paulo - SP) - July 23, 2012

by Roberto Abdenur *

The Underground Economy Index (IES) brings good news, a study that estimates the values ​​of activities deliberately not declared to public authorities in order to evade taxes and those of those who are in the informal sector due to excessive taxation and bureaucracy. In 2011 it represented 16,8% of the gross domestic product (GDP), which corresponds to R $ 695,7 billion.

The news is very good because, in the previous year, the estimated size of the HEI was 17,7% of GDP, or R $ 715,1 billion. The study on the IES has been carried out by the Brazilian Institute of Economics of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation, together with the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (Etco) since 2003, when the underground economy was estimated at 21% of GDP.

Between 2004 and 2006 the estimated size of this economy was around 20%. In 2007 it dropped to 19,5%, as a result of the increase in formal work. The economic situation in the country, the growth of class C and the good prospects for the future confirmed the trend towards formal employment. In 2008 and 2009, the HEI was 18,7% and 18,5%, respectively, which continued to confirm the trend towards a reduction in activities that are outside the formal economy.

Here comes the alert. Reaching the levels of developed countries - where IES is around 10% - seems distant, despite the number of 2011 (16,8%). It is that the downward trend may be temporarily reaching its limit in Brazil, due to the loss of dynamism in the economy and the reduction in the pace of credit growth.

The loss of dynamism in the economy is reflected in the prospect of a lower GDP. This tends to affect the labor market, which increases household indebtedness and makes credit difficult. The moment of wonder passed with the consumption of the new middle class, when realizing that everything depended on numerous installments to be honored.

In addition to the slowdown in the economy, the high tax burden is also a factor in the informalization of activities in the country. The current tax system raises the cost of industrial production, impairs internal and external competitiveness, discourages investments, decreases consumption, increases unemployment. , encourages tax evasion and, as a general result, contributes to informality and the underground economy.

Comparing tax burden and GDP per capita, Brazil is very poorly placed, according to data from the World Bank. Taxes in the country (36% of GDP) are at the same level as Russia, Ireland and Australia and exceed the United States and South Korea. But these countries have GDP per capita higher (three to five times) than ours. On the other hand, our taxes exceed those of countries like China and India, in addition to Argentina and Mexico, which have GDP per capita more similar to that of Brazil and compete with us.

Tax collection is vital for the State, but the tax system must be in harmony with other factors inherent to economic activity. In Brazil, in addition to the high tax burden, the problem lies in the complexity of paying taxes and the rigidity of legislation for those who work in legality.

Another World Bank study, called Paying Taxes, showed that, in 2008, a standard company spent no less than 2.600 hours a year to pay basic taxes in Brazil. It was the worst result in the world. In the United Arab Emirates, for example, it was 12 o'clock; in Switzerland, 63; in Venezuela, 864.

The time spent is a direct consequence of the complexity of tax legislation, which from 1988 to 2005 had an incredible 3,4 million rules issued. The delay in simplifying and rationalizing the tax system has been one of the biggest obstacles to the modernization of the Brazilian economy. To the extent that such complexity is used as a justification for tax evasion, it benefits transgressors, deteriorates the business environment, removes investments and reduces the country's growth potential.

A simpler system, on the contrary, encourages the productive sector, encourages consumption, promotes formal employment, raises workers' income, reduces tax evasion and reduces informality. At this stage, it is not a matter of promoting a broad tax reform - which may require years of debates and adjustments -, but of studying specific proposals that may have almost immediate results. Among these proposals are the unification of taxes and fees with the same calculation basis and taxable event, such as goods and services (IPI, ICMS, ISS), billing (PIS, Cofins), income (IR, Social Contribution) or imports (IPI , ICMS, ISS, Cofins, tariffs).

In view of the trend pointed out by the Underground Economy Index and the global scenario, a joint effort is now needed - between the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary Powers with society - to stimulate formality in the Brazilian economy.

We live in a unique moment in our economic history, favorable for the revision of a series of rules that, historically, prevent the healthy growth of our economy. President Dilma Rousseff's commendable effort to end the so-called fiscal war and move forward in the modernization of tax rules, as well as the institution of individual micro-entrepreneurs - just to mention two recent facts - are examples among countless proposals that must be evaluated and put into practice. practice.

It is clear that there is only one way to reduce the size of the shadow economy. And this path consists of five measures: improving the tax system, reducing tax evasion, reducing illegal trade and piracy, reducing the informal economy and, not least, fighting corruption. We have made progress on these fronts, but much remains to be done.

* DIPLOMATA, IS EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF ETCO

Tax digitization helps to reduce informality

Source: DCI (São Paulo - SP) - 05/06/2012

According to Professor Roberto Dias Duarte, a specialist in the Public Digital Bookkeeping System (Sped), this fiscal digitalization helped to reduce the rate of the so-called underground economy, also known as the informal economy.

From 2007 to 2008, the indicator in relation to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased from 19,5% to 18,7%. "This is because in this period [among other factors] there was the implementation at Sped in Brazil", he evaluates. In the following years, 2009 and 2010, the rate - calculated by the Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) and the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (ETCO) - was 18,6% and 18,4%, respectively.

The explanation, according to the expert, is because Sped, by facilitating the inclusion of Brazilian entrepreneurs in the formal system (Simples Nacional or Micro Empreendedor Individual), made it possible to rationalize accessory obligations. In other words, greater understanding of what the government should pay in tax.

“In this digital tax ecosystem, which integrates companies and authorities, the existence of an underground economy is becoming more and more difficult and expensive every day”, he understands, adding that the fight against unfair competition is one of Sped's objectives and causes it to decrease informality in the country.

On the other hand, Duarte recalls that the rate of the underground economy in relation to Brazil's GDP, which represents more than R $ 660 billion, is “almost the size of an Argentina”, in addition to being well above the world average, which is 10%.

Difficulties

For Duarte, the difficulty in adapting to the tax and accounting digitalization system, especially for micro and small entrepreneurs, is a matter of management. "Many are not informed about this adequacy".

For Professor Edgar Madruga, “the biggest problem for Sped is cultural”. “The owner of a company has to know that it is his responsibility to adapt to the system in the best possible way. The risk is entirely his, ”he analyzes.

According to also a specialist in Sped, and a member of the Brazilian Association of Tax Law (Abat), Tânia Gurgel, there is a high cost for micro and small companies, ranging from R $ 200 thousand to R $ 300 thousand, involving from their own technology for each obligation within Sped, until training of the internal team. “And for large companies, it can reach a cost of R $ 30 million”, adds Jorge Campos, tax specialist at Aliz, and is also an administrator on the Sped Brasil blog.

The experts' comments were made yesterday during the 1st National Forum on the Digital Tax Era and the Electronic Crossing of Tax Information, carried out by Aba.

Research

Research by JAPS Sped, coordinated by consultants José Adriano Pinto and Roberto Dias Duarte, shows that there are several problems that companies face in relation to Digital Tax Bookkeeping (EFD).

The survey, carried out between March 15 and 18, 2012, was attended by 470 professionals responsible for the Bookkeeping of more than five thousand corporations.

According to the study, although 90,2% had transmitted the files on the initial deadline (March 14), the majority (60,4%) faced problems in the operation. The most prominent point was the insecurity regarding the quality of the content. Almost 70% stated that they intend to rectify the Bookkeeping, with 79,1% saying they face problems with EFD data.

“One of the biggest difficulties is in the preparation of company registrations, at the foundation. As the vast majority of companies do not have this centralized information, this fact compromises all other operations ”, says Miriam Negreiro, consulting director at ABC71.

She points out that the responsibility for this problem begins with those who create or adequately maintain records that have tax and accounting implications and how to operate or use this data.

The study also mapped the profile of the professionals who answered the questionnaires and found that 30% are members of accounting organizations. Retail and wholesale trade also deserves to be highlighted with 8,3% and 3,6%, respectively.

The services sector had a 7,5% share. The industrial sector, on the other hand, had an expressive participation, in its various specializations, with emphasis on: automobile (3,4%), consumer goods (2,8%), steel and metallurgy (2,3%). The construction sector was represented by 3,2%.