Businessman defends equal tribute between Brazil and China – 04/15/2023 – Panel SA

“The taxation has to be the same for everyone, not a penny more or less”, says Alexandre Ostrowiecki, president of Multilaser, in the face of the debate raised this week about the exemption of import tax on orders of up to US$ 50.

“A situation in which Brazilians suffer a huge tax burden to produce here while products come in from abroad without paying is not sustainable”, says the owner of the Brazilian company, whose portfolio of more than 7,000 items ranges from tablets and smartphones to sports equipment. and toy.

He was one of the businessmen who, at the beginning of last year, participated in the movement led by retail giants to combat the so-called digital street vendor, when the Revenue began to study measures on the subject.

“I fully understand the anger of many people on the internet who manage, through platforms, to buy affordable products and are faced with high prices in Brazil. It is important that we direct this anger towards the real culprit: the absurd tax burden that Brazil imposes on consumer products”, he says.

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Mr. is one of the businessmen who have been warning about the entry of tax-free products into Brazil for a long time. What do you think of the idea of ​​ending the exemption for orders up to US$ 50? Brazilian consumer products below US$50 already currently pay taxes of around 45% in Brazil, without exception. A situation in which Brazilians suffer a huge tax burden to produce here while products come in from abroad without paying anything is not sustainable.
Taxation has to be the same for everyone, not a penny more or less.

Do you think this measure is enough to solve the problem that Brazilian companies point to as unfair competition?We need rules that equalize the tax burden of Brazilian and Chinese companies, without disturbing the freedom of competition and offers for consumers.
There is no point in having exclusive taxes for Brazilians. If the Brazilian company pays around 45% while the foreign one pays zero, this will, with absolute certainty, lead to the closure of most industries and businesses in the country and generate an unprecedented mass of unemployed people.

This issue raised a strong reaction among users of social networks against the end of the exemption. Do you think this could hinder the progress of the measure?I totally understand the anger of many people on the internet who manage, through platforms, to buy affordable products and are faced with high prices in Brazil. It is important that we direct this anger towards the real culprit: the absurd tax burden that Brazil imposes on consumer products, making Brazilian products cost twice as much as they should. This is the center of the discussion.

We need to lower consumption taxes, such as IPI, PIS, Cofins, ICMS, and thus make everyone’s products cheaper.

In your opinion, is there a lack of awareness about tax evasion that can happen in this type of purchase?This theme was compounded by a lot of misinformation on social media, manipulation and half-truths, often for political purposes. Anyone who looks at the matter in a calm and balanced way will come to the conclusion that the problem needs to be solved by placing a lower tax burden on everyone.

The current situation, of under-invoicing, fraud by exporters pretending to be natural persons and counterfeit products is not sustainable. This is aggravated in some categories, such as toys, for example, where we find products without safety certification and with materials that are toxic for children.

The toy sector has warned about this issue from Inmetro. Beverage segments also raise this concern about the safety of products that enter this situation. In the case of electronics, is there also the aggravating factor of security in addition to the aspect of collection and competition?In the case of toys, the concern with safety is certainly much greater, because cases of toxic substances in products have already been shown, putting children’s lives at risk.

But the electronics are still a concern, especially for the batteries. If they are not of excellent quality and homologated by the strictest standards, they can even generate fires and explosions in extreme cases.

The problem of high interest rates is another issue that has been troubling the private sector these days. Mr. see any improvement?High interest rates are, unfortunately, the natural consequence of decades of fiscal irresponsibility in Brazil committed by successive governments, from different parties.

As long as there is a hole in public accounts, the government will necessarily need to print money, generating inflation and forcing the Central Bank to maintain high interest rates to balance the economy. The only effective solution to the interest rate problem is to make the Brazilian state more efficient.

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X-ray

The businessman, who is now the CEO of Multilaser, was co-CEO of the company between 2003 and 2018. Graduated in business administration from Eaesp-FGV, he has an MBA in the area from Ibmec and a specialization in management from Harvard Business School. Previously, he worked in the finance department at Unilever and in the strategy area at Accenture.

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