It was the governors who started charging taxes on blouses, says Haddad

Former Finance Minister and pre-candidate for the government of the state of São Paulo, Fernando Haddad (PT), stated that governors were the first to implement measures equivalent to the so-called "blouse tax".

The statement was made during his participation in the Forum Rumos do Brasil, promoted by Revista Veja, this Monday (15) in São Paulo.

"The governors were the ones who started charging the tax on blouses, which I agreed corrected a distortion. It was unanimously approved by Congress. But today it was revoked by the federal government", stated the former minister.

The measure, which applied a tax on international purchases above US$50, was a source of wear and tear for the PT government and the then minister, associated with the increase in the tax burden.

Members of the government, such as vice-president Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) defended the maintenance of the tax on the grounds of protecting the national industry from unfair competition, especially those in the Chinese market.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), through a provisional measure, ended the collection of federal taxes on international purchases in May this year. ICMS, a state tax, remains in force at rates between 17 and 20%.

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*Under the supervision of Renata Souza

Source: CNN