Exemption for online purchases up to US$ 50 will cause 2.5 million layoffs, say entities

Scheduled to take effect in August, the federal tax exemption for online purchases of up to US$ 50 could cause up to 2.5 million layoffs, said this Wednesday (19) the president of the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), Robson Andrade, and the president of the Institute for Retail Development (IDV), Jorge Gonçalves Filho.

The two met with the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, to deliver a study with the possible effects of the measure.

According to the survey, retailers should lay off 2 million workers by the end of the year; and industry, 500 thousand. The entities asked for the resumption of taxation of this purchase range, to avoid damage to the economy.

The possibility of layoffs was mentioned by Andrade to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) himself on the day of the reactivation of the National Council for Industrial Development (CNDI). He said, at the time, that the measure “works against small, medium and micro-industry in Brazil”. Lula, however, did not comment on the criticism.

“To give you an idea, there are more than 1 million packages per day that are arriving with a value of up to US$ 50. They are arriving at a rate that will amount to R$ 60 billion [em compras online] per annum. In industry alone, we estimate that we are going to lose 500,000 jobs, which represent R$ 20 billion in the payroll”, declared the president of the CNI after the meeting, in a record of the Brazil Agency.

According to the industrialists, the exemption affects exactly the large production of the Brazilian industry that costs up to R$ 250 – the value of converting the dollar into the real – such as chocolate, clothing, toys, among others. The leader defended that all purchases made abroad “regardless of the amount” be taxed, just as Brazilian businessmen themselves are already taxed on a daily basis.

The entities defend the resumption of taxation to guarantee isonomy between imported products and national products. “If these products do not pay taxes, the Brazilian industry is paying a tax that will remove jobs and wages from Brazilians,” said Andrade.

The president of the IDV warned of the risk of the exemption encouraging the entry of counterfeit products into the country. This is because, according to Gonçalves, the Federal Revenue will not be able to inspect the number of packages. “The exemption with that value turned into an absurdity of counterfeiting, products that you don’t know where they come from, which were previously sold by individuals, legal entities, control was lost”, he criticized.

Analysis

Number two of the Ministry of Finance, the executive secretary of the folder, Dario Durigan, also participated in the meeting. He said the conversation was productive and promised to look into the study.

“The data on the impact on jobs draws attention, and the study has very consistent data in this regard. As many have followed, the Treasury has regulated this issue so that we can bring this matter to light, it cannot remain without treatment, without compliance, as it was stated”, said Durigan.

On the day the ordinance was published that exempted imports of up to US$ 50 from federal taxes, the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, said that the analysis of a federal tax on electronic commerce would remain for a second stage.

He, however, declined to comment on whether taxation would be reinstated. He just said that the “compliance plan” will seek to preserve the balance between domestic retailers and online stores of imported products.