Brazil scraps the tax on international purchases up to $50

Brazil scraps the tax on international purchases up to $50

The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, signed a new law. The rule removes the 20% tax on international purchases up to $50. That is about 255 reais.

People knew that tax as the "taxa das blusinhas". The name means "the tax on little blouses".

The tax was created in 2024. It was defended by the finance minister at the time, Fernando Haddad. Congress approved it. The goal was to protect Brazilian producers and sellers. They wanted to slow competition from China.

But the exemption has a limit. It only covers federal taxes. The ICMS is a tax charged by the states, not by the national government. That tax runs from 17% to 20%. It can still be charged on the imported product.

The same rule brings another change. It lowers federal taxes plus ICMS from 60% to 30%. This applies to international purchases up to $3,000.

It also changes how taxes are calculated. Now people use the dollar value on the day of the purchase. Before, they used the value on the day the package arrived in Brazil.

There are reactions in favor. A study by Proteste, a consumer association, found clear facts. 92% of Brazilians support the end of that tax. 75% think the charge was unfair.

There are reactions against it. The CNI is the National Confederation of Industry. That group warned in a technical note. It says the end of the tax can put 109,000 jobs at risk. It also says it can affect about 21.8 billion reais of production inside Brazil.

Lula answered the criticism from business owners. He said that kind of complaint seems false to him, a "mimimi". And he added: "we will let time pass to see who was right".

The signing happened 24 days before the Brazilian election.

Sources: UOL, Valor Econômico, Folha de S.Paulo, and O Globo (Brazil). September 10, 2026.