Tax management and investment in Paraguay: brief comments on the makeup act
March 28, 2018
The economic scenario in Brazil has faced major structural difficulties mainly by the political and interinstitutional crisis that has grounded the country in recent years. In this way, the feasibility of installing companies and investing in another country is no longer a hypothetical one in the vision of major Brazilian entrepreneurs.
A country that stood out in the installation of companies such as Adidas, Zara, JBS (Friboi), Riachuelo, Vale, Bourbon, Camargo Correa, Eurofarma, Buddemeyer, Cargill, X-Plast and star toys, precisely due to their tax options and lower labor cost was the Paraguay.
Paraguay underwent a sudden insertion in foreign investment rankings and increased its economic offerings, surpassing the growth of countries related to the MERCOSUR axis such as Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.
Within the international trend of thematic destinations, Paraguay is consolidating itself as a summer center of excellence, became a member of the Executive Board of WTO and occupies the vice presidency of the Commission for the Americas until the year 2018.
Due to the notable performance in improving the quality of life of the population, this country may even be the seat of the 2030 World Cup, according to the launch of the candidacy with Argentina and Uruguay and the commemoration of 100 years of the first edition of the tournament.
In addition, in the last five years, the neighbouring country is among the fastest growing economies in Latin America, presenting a solid market with controlled inflation and growing unemployment; In a way that has received public praise from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) for its monetary and fiscal policies.
Destare, Paraguay's strong presence in the economic integration of international relations has been increasingly recognized, especially after the adoption of the Makeup Act. The term makeup, which comes from the Arabic Makeil and refers to the unit of measure that assumes outsourcing or manufacture.
The Makeup Act (1064/1997), promulgated by decree 9585/2000 and other resolutions, procedures and instructions issued by the Executive Secretariat and other bodies of the Paraguayan government, has as executor and regulator of the makeup industries the CNIME- National Council of Makeup and exporting industries – belonging to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the country and acts in a measure with the Mercosur Treaty, in a perspective of fostering regional development; Bringing benefits like:
· Single makeup tax;
· Tax recovery above the aggregate value – VAT;
· suspension of customs fees;
· Overseas remittances with tax exemption;
· Exemption from other taxes as securities and documents fees;
· Exemption from consular, municipal, patent, construction taxes, etc.
· Zero rate for Mercosur.
Other issues that have interfered in the decision of Brazilians to settle in Paraguay is due not only to the low cost of production of the goods, but also by the labor substantially cheaper, water and energy rates up to 70% cheaper than in Brazil, Due to the energy surplus; Low cost of living and also by:
· Exemption from taxes and import charges incidents on capital goods and on the raw materials necessary for the development of economic activity;
· Tax exemption on any and all good, service, right or manpower essential to the production of goods and/or the provision of export-related services provided that previously provided for in the makeup contract.
In this tuning fork, the company's only obligation is to export the finished product to a single tax of 1%.
In addition, tax expenses with the company staff are also reduced, since in Paraguay the only tax on payroll is the ISS of 16.6%.
It is important to note that Paraguay has the SGP seal – the general system of Preferences – which consists of partial or total exemption from marketed product taxes, which has been leveraging trade transactions between Paraguay, Europe and the USA, so as to Internationalize industrialized products with makeup certification.
If the Paraguayan company (makeup artist) wants to market part of its products internally, in Paraguay, it will collect a single tax, incident on sale, VAT, at an aliquot of 10%; However, only part of this production can be marketed in the country and should also respect the sales period of up to 2 (two) years of disposal of the products.
It is also observed that the makeup industry has benefits of exemption from port fees and of the rates of remittances of capital abroad, which establishes a low transactional cost.
Although there are stages and phases for the establishment of a strategic design of solid export, with the installation in Paraguay, it is noted that sales are driven by a market that has no frontiers for growth, whatever, the external market. In this way, if the internal market finds difficulties, there will always be a market with foreign currency able to bring better appreciation of its products and goods; In a continuous chain of profits arising from exports.
With the window of opportunities in Paraguay, it is concluded that the production system of the makeup works on the order of a matrix located outside the country (in Brazil, for example) and can be sent to all countries of the world. This brings as a positive result the opening of new markets, adequacy of the product, new strategic positioning and professionalization of the logistics processes and the Brazilian investor ends up having the possibility of having the brand worldly known .