Bolsonaro denies MP to tax purchases by apps like Shopee and AliExpress

President Jair Bolsonaro said this Saturday (21) that he does not intend to sign an MP (provisional measure) to tax purchases through apps, countering, according to him, information that would have circulated in the press.

“I will not sign any MP to tax purchases by e-commerce applications such as Shopee, AliExpress, Shein, etc. as much of the media has been promoting”, he said in a publication on his social network.

Bolsonaro’s statements contradict Economy Minister Paulo Guedes, who, during an event with financial market companies on Thursday (19), mentioned the possibility of creating a digital tax to combat the virtual camelódromo.

He also pointed out that, for possible irregularities in this service or others, the way out should be inspection, not tax increases.

In March of this year, the Federal Revenue announced that it was studying an MP to prevent foreign e-commerce companies from selling goods to Brazilians without paying the due taxes.

On the occasion, the special secretary of the Federal Revenue, Julio Cesar Vieira Gomes, stated that the measure would curb the so-called “virtual street vendor”, allowing to verify the financial flow of operations and compare with what is declared in the importation of goods.

“We are developing a provisional measure and I think it will have very high gains,” said Gomes.

The move comes amid increased scrutiny of how ecommerce works in Brazil. Businessmen claim that Asian companies have taken advantage of a piece of legislation that authorizes individuals to send foreign goods to another person in Brazil without paying taxes, as long as the value of the goods is below US$50.

The complaint is that companies are defrauding data by registering more expensive products priced below $50 as a way of evading taxation.

Guedes sees massive invasion of Chinese products

At Thursday’s event, Guedes stated that there is a massive invasion of Chinese products in Brazil, with some transactions made in bitcoin to leave no trace.

“The abuses that are committed and the transactions that are made – whether in bitcoin or something else -, the ‘digitax’ will appear there already to equalize the game”, he said.

Guedes also mocked the Chinese socialist model and said that the country, in fact, is a savage capitalist.

“Roberto Campos used to say that a smuggler is someone who puts his own life at risk for the defense of his ideals. [risos]. That is to say: the guy wants to do free trade even if he goes under the Federal Revenue, goes through customs, doesn’t pay labor charges, doesn’t have a minimum wage. So Chinese is really wild, 18th century capitalism.”

with Reuters