The federal government is rushing to approve this week the provisional measure (MP) that ends the so-called "blusinhas tax," the 20% charge on international purchases of up to US$ 50. The approval is part of the National Congress's concentrated effort that runs from August 31 to September 4.
A joint committee of deputies and senators scheduled the vote for this Monday. After being approved by the committee, the text still needs to pass through the floors of the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate.
The report to be considered still depends on negotiations. The committee chairman, Deputy Reginaldo Lopes (PT-MG), arrived in Brasília in the morning to hold several meetings with representatives of the Civil House, Ministry of Finance, the proposal's rapporteur, Senator Leila Barros (PDT-DF), the presidents of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), and the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), as well as hearing businesspeople from the sector.
The retail sector is against the end of the tax, arguing that the measure harms the competitiveness of national commerce compared to international purchases.
