Taxation of 50 dollars: intermediate agreement should bring a solution to the impasse

“What I usually buy on Chinese websites are beauty things, like lip gloss, makeup, hair clips, or things for the home. The price difference between Chinese and Brazilian products is quite large and the quality is sometimes the same as in Brazil, or even lower.”

The collection of import tax on these products was included in the project that establishes the Green Mobility and Innovation Program (Mover), which would be voted on last Wednesday (22), but was postponed at the government’s request. The debate is not new, it began in 2023, when the government was in favor of taxing products below US$50 — “which generated a negative repercussion in relation to the government’s image among segments that support it”, explains the scientist politician Eduardo Grinn.

Faced with this, the government backed down, even causing an internal dispute with the Ministry of Finance, which defends taxation and the consequent increase in revenue.

Today the debate is on the same footing.

“Lira (president of the Chamber), listening to the Brazilian retail sector that claims that there are huge losses in revenue and unemployment, has sought to act towards taxing these purchases. Lula, in an election year and given the negative repercussions of last year, is afraid. Haddad, in turn, is in favor.” The political scientist assesses that, in the midst of this dispute, everything indicates that an intermediate agreement should be moving forward.

How it works today

Economist César Bergo explains that today, every product that arrives in the country worth up to US$50 does not pay taxes. For him, it is a loss to the internal market that cannot occur with what comes from abroad.

“This harms the national industry and harms trade, because the product arrives tax-free in Brazil and causes unfair competition. The taxpayer, in turn, likes it, because it pays cheaply, but the country ends up making a big loss.”

The economist still estimates that US$50 is R$250 — and this is not a negligible amount. The most affected sectors — such as the textile and footwear industries — end up suffering large losses due to the lack of taxation.

“Taxation would change, yes, it would bring tax justice, distribution of wealth equally and would enable the government to collect revenue.”

Shipment as per

Currently, through the Conform Remittance program, purchases from abroad below US$50 are exempt from federal taxes — and taxed only by the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS) at a rate of 17%, collected by the states. The federal import tax, 60%, only applies to shipments from abroad above US$50.

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The economist and professor at FAAP in São Paulo, Sillas Sousa, assesses that the economic impact of not taxing these products is not the biggest problem for the productive sector today. “The national industry is scrapped. It has not received investment either from the industrialists themselves or from government incentives for a long time.” In the expert’s opinion, this sector needs to be looked at more carefully.

According to the professor, there is also a lack of mobilization of industrialists and businesspeople in the sector who do not move enough to cause innovative processes. The blame comes a little from both sides”, he assesses.