Import taxation heated up the mood in the Lula government – 04/13/2023 – Market

The noise surrounding the announcement that the Ministry of Finance will end the exemption for the import of orders worth up to US$ 50 (R$ 250) made between individuals raised tension within the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), with internal charges and even a principle of washing dirty linen on social networks.

The Minister of the Presidency’s Communication Secretariat, Paulo Pimenta, complained in an internal message group with other ministries that the lack of coordination is causing “fires” and “headaches” for the government.

On the other hand, it is Pimenta himself who is being pressured, because of the failures in communication at the moment when the government reaches the symbolic milestone of 100 days.

“On several occasions, President Lula and I have repeated that any announcement of government measures that generate public repercussions must be previously debated at Secom and at the Civil House. This is elementary. We are a team. If each one says what he wants, that causes noise and only brings a headache. Secom ends up being called in to put out fires that could be avoided. We are going to adjust this definitively”, wrote Pimenta in a group of communication advisors.

“In addition to being wrong, it is disrespectful to the benches, who end up being surprised with measures that were not previously discussed or explained”, continues the text of the minister’s message, to which the Sheet had access.

The government’s communication was one of the reasons for criticism within the government as it reached the 100-day milestone earlier this week. President Lula himself went so far as to publicly charge ministers who divulged their “genius” without approval from the Planalto.

The message was, among others, for ministers Márcio França (Ports and Airports) and Carlos Lupi (Social Security). The first disclosed a plan to sell idle airline tickets at R$200 to retirees and students. Lupi, in turn, had disclosed the reduction in the interest ceiling for payroll loans for retirees.

The most recent crisis –and possibly the one with the greatest repercussions, especially with the middle class– involved the announcement of the end of import tax exemption for orders of up to US$50 (R$250) shipped by individuals and also destined for physical persons.

Government members point out that there was a general failure in communication, which distorted the official message and opened a gap for the version that Lula’s team was taxing online purchases.

Pimenta’s team defends internally that it was taken by surprise by the news and sought to contain the damage. The evaluation is that at no time was a strategy thought of to deal with an issue of high popular appeal and that involves economic issues, difficult to understand by a large part of the population.

According to the Federal Revenue, the rules no longer allow exemption for purchases of products from companies and, therefore, what is being sought is the effective payment of the due tax.

There will no longer be any distinction in treatment for remittances by legal entities and individuals – which today would serve only for generalized fraud, according to the government. The measure affects consumers of virtual stores such as Shein, Shopee and AliExpress, which are very popular among Brazilians.

Planalto attributes part of the responsibility to Minister Fernando Haddad (Finance) and his team, who have been using the expression “digital contraband” to refer to these international purchases. This was seen as offensive to part of the Brazilian population, which buys products on these international platforms.

Other members of the government, however, point the finger at Pimenta himself, who is reportedly being pressured by failures in government communication and, therefore, seeks to outsource responsibility to the ministries.

This morning, Pimenta publicly exposed the problem with the other folders on his social networks. He published a text similar to, but less critical of, the message sent to communication advisors, but then deleted it.

“All ministries have their own communication advisory services. President Lula and I, on several occasions, advise that announcements of relevant issues that have public repercussions must be debated at Secom and at the Civil House before being announced. It is elementary!!”, says the minister in the post, which was deleted minutes later.

In an attempt to contain the damage, the government sought to react this Wednesday afternoon (12) with a massive action on social networks to seek to clarify the issue, in addition to mobilizing influencers to better convey the message.

In addition, members of the economic team began to give interviews to television stations to try to better explain the end of the exemption and minimize noise. Minister Fernando Haddad addressed the subject in an interview given in China, where he is accompanying Lula on a presidential trip.

“I have seen a lot of confusion and a lot of misinformation. There are Brazilian companies that operate in Brazil, both with open stores and with virtual commerce. There are foreign companies that are headquartered in Brazil and there are foreign portals that sell in Brazil. All of this is absolutely legal” , said the minister, in an interview with Globonews.

“No one is thinking about raising taxes. What is being complained about by some companies is that there is a kind of unfair competition on the part of some sites, not all. This is being investigated and can be curbed”, he added.

Haddad also said that the lack of equality in terms of competition harms the Brazilian economy.

Secretary says there will be no new tax

The executive secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Gabriel Galípolo, also reinforced this Thursday (13) that the government will not create a new tax with the MP (Provisional Measure) under study to close the siege against tax evasion by large international e-commerce companies.

According to Galípolo, there will be no changes for those who already respect Brazilian legislation. In the country, the collection of taxation of 60% on the value of orders from abroad that exceed US$ 50 has always existed in the relationship between legal entities and individuals.

“It may seem that what was created is a new tax or that an exemption that existed was withdrawn and that is not the case,” said the number two of the economic portfolio in an interview with GloboNews.

“For those who buy from companies, individuals who buy from companies, there was no such type of exemption, nor is a new tax being created. , it doesn’t change anything,” he added.

Galípolo had already given another interview to discuss the subject in Jornal Nacional.