Welcome to Brazil, my friends! Grab a caipirinha and join us in complaining about import fees!
We recently got rid of de minimis here too, although whether or not it really existed is up for debate. If I buy anything that costs more than $50 from AliExpress, I have to pay a 92% tax, and there is literally no way not to do that. The reason why you can’t dodge this tax is that this government program, called Remessa Conforme, is done in cooperation with massive Chinese sales portals like AliExpress, Banggood and the like, who collect the import taxes and then forward that money to the government (supposedly).
It’s not really a single 92% tax. Technically it’s 60%, but it’s actually an unholy mathematical abomination, a rat king of duty fees that includes amazing things like a fee that is applied to the purchase value with the very same fee already applied. It’s called “cálculo por dentro”, something like “calculation from the inside”, and what it means is that if you, say, buy a product that costs R$1000, the import fee is R$600 and there is a state tax called ICMS which is an additional 17%. However, this 17% is calculated over the cost + import fee + the ICMS itself, so it’s essentially calculated twice, which means the final price you’re actually going to pay is about R$1920. Don’t ask.
The way it used to be before, and also the reason why our de minimis was a weird gray area, is that import fees were the result of a random sample inspection. So, if you’re lucky, you won’t be inspected by customs, and you’ll get your treat tax-exempt. Also, if your product is inspected but the price + shipping cost is less than $50, you’re golden, unless the customs inspector looks at your packet and decides that you’re lying and this product is actually worth more than that amount. In that case, they decide how much they think it costs and charge you accordingly. Also, the de minimis exemption was technically only for gifts, but eh who gives a shit, just let that 3m paracord USB cable through.
Now, with our new system, you pay these taxes directly to the online retailer, so you don’t even get the chance to get your tax-exempt treats. Well, technically, under $50 you’re tax-exempt, but there’s still the 17% ICMS fee. Still, for small items like computer accessories and niche hobby supplies, it’s still worth it buying from AliExpress, even with the 92% tax, because Brazilian stores either a) don’t carry that product or b) sell it for even more than you would pay with taxes included. I recently treated myself to a really nice mech keyboard (Aula F108 Pro, ask me about it) and paid a ridiculous amount of money for it. It was still cheaper than a lower-quality keyboard bought from any local store (and I fucking love my treats).
Now, guess who pushed for this new tax regime? Major retailers, of course. Magalu, Havan, as well as a bunch of other parasites who either a) sell generic white label garbage with their name on it or b) act as Amazon-wannabe middlemen and used all of their power and infinite money glitches to push for this ridiculousness. If your auntie has a side hustle reselling clothes from Shein or your dad does some woodworking on weekends and gets router bits from AliExpress, well, fuck them very much. Think of our local retailers. How dare you try to bypass them. Also, I’m your dad in that scenario.
So the point of this rant is: as a fellow treat enjoyer who needs to be extra picky because my currency is very undervalued in relation to the US dollar, I know the pain of not getting my gizmos and doodads straight from Xi’s loving hands, free from any taxation (all of which is theft, whenever my treats are concerned). Do the materialist thing and ask qui bono, for sure there’s an interest group that will benefit tremendously from this import fee, and it’s absolutely not us treatlerite peasants.
Treating Gaza’s Collective Trauma
I have no words. If there is one thing that I firmly believe it’s that the people who supported this and who let this happen should never ever ever be able to live it down. In fact I don’t think they should ever be able to live at all.