"There is a link between the high tax burden and tax evasion, corruption, forgery"
Jorge Raimundo Filho, a lawyer specializing in the areas of life sciences and regulatory law, is a partner at BRZ law firm. He made a career as a manager in the pharmaceutical sector. Advisor to companies and institutions such as Interfarma, Firjan and ETCO, he was decorated by the Queen of England with the Order of the British Empire
Competitive ethics are fundamental for the business environment and for the development of the country, with respect to the Brazilian Anti-Corruption Law (Law 12.846/2013). ETCO has played a leading role in this fight by diagnosing the problems and defending the need for rules in the name of integrity and transparency in business.
Thanks in large part to the actions of the Institute, the understanding that it is not possible to resort to subterfuges that escape correct negotiation, honest competition, has increased. That you cannot join a true “anything goes” to take advantage.
Fighting "the way"
Many ETCO actions have deeply marked the defense of competition ethics. One of the highlights, for me, is the in-depth work developed to diagnose the culture of transgressions in Brazil – that is, how the famous “Brazilian knack” has been in our trajectory since the beginning and how the difficulty to follow rules is embedded in the most everyday.
Another of the Brazilian historical legacies is the bureaucracy, which makes life difficult for entrepreneurs and is reflected, for example, in the slowness of regulatory bodies, a major obstacle to attracting investors and the country's development.
Tax Burden
As ETCO has clearly demonstrated over the years, counterfeiting is one of the problems that greatly harm the business environment in Brazil. The cigarette industry is one of those that suffer the most, because it has an exceptionally high tax burden to curb smoking, but at the same time it does not see the importation of counterfeit cigarettes being curbed. Similar situations occur in other sectors.
Another essential flag of ETCO is the reduction of the tax burden. In addition to the importance of this aspect for the good development of business in the country, there is a direct link between the high tax burden and tax evasion, corruption and counterfeiting. There is always someone wanting to make life easier for companies “from the outside”, and many entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs unfortunately end up adhering to this “little way”.
