Brazilian Trade Official Says Tax Reform Will Lead to Evasion Via Crypto
The head of a major Brazilian trade association, the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP), said that Brazilians could start using crypto to evade taxes.
Paulo Skaf, the president of the FIESP, expressed concern over the recent tax reform proposal by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Cointelegraph Brazil reports on July 25. He reportedly warned that the new tax system could force citizens to use crypto such as Bitcoin (BTC) for tax evasion purposes.
In a recent interview with local newspaper Folha de São Paulo, Skaf criticized the upcoming tax reform, calling it a mistake that would be an invitation to evade taxes and lead to unfeasible situations in various sectors. Pres. Bolsonaro recently said that the government has been seeking to simplify federal taxes by combining a number of existing taxes into one single tax. According to local English language publication The Rio Times, income tax changes are expected to be proposed in August, with the government planning to merge five consumption taxes into a single federal tax with a rate of 15%.