PAULO DE ARAUJO
After the court to extend the IPI on cars, appliances and building materials, the government has now on the table the request of the consumer electronics industry to extend tax breaks on computers.
According to the director of the Computer Abinee (Brazilian Association of Electrical and Electronics Industry), Antonio Hugo Valério, the exemption of PIS / Cofins about computers up to $ 4,000, introduced in 2005 with the call of the Good Law, expire at the end this year. With the benefit, he says, these products were up to 10% cheaper, which boosted sales in the country.
With the return of the PIS / Cofins, Abinee provides a "fall" in the coming year, due to the more expensive computers. According to Valerius in 2004, the industry produced 4 million units. In 2008 there were 12 million, an increase of 200%.
"If the benefit is not extended, we regress a lot. The industry is back in the previous stage," he said.
The director of Abinee need not know the amount of revenue that the government gave up the law of righteousness "But certainly, the government ended up winning more than losing, even as the informality in the industry has largely decreased from 73% in 2004 to 35% last year. And it was possible to collect more "
Wanted, the MDIC (Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade) did not return.
Valerio said Abinee already started talks with the government, but the response has been "slow" so far.
Industry
Sales in the computer industry fell 7% in the first half versus the same period of 2008. The drop is less than that recorded in the electronics sector as a whole (-13%). As president of Abinee, Humberto Barbato, for the fiscal year, the revenue of the sector should fall between 2% and 5%. "The perception is that the numbers are not good."
Source: Folha de S. Paulo
