Brazil eliminates taxes on domestic arms exports

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The government of President Bolsonaro eliminated on Monday (26) the 150% tax that Brazilian exporters who sell firearms to Central and South American countries had to pay.

The high tax was imposed in 2001 after investigations indicated that thousands of weapons exported from Brazil to neighboring countries, especially Paraguay, were later seized by the authorities in Brazil in criminal hands.

The phenomenon is known as “boomerang exports” practically disappeared when the tax was imposed.

This is the second attempt during Bolsonaro’s term to remove barriers to the Brazilian arms trade.

The first, which sought to eliminate taxes for the import of revolvers and pistols, was suspended by the Supreme Court in mid-April this year, along with other decrees issued by President Bolsonaro that facilitated the purchase and use of weapons in Brazil.

The relaxation of the carrying and possession of weapons is one of the campaign promises of the Brazilian president.

The number of new firearms registered in Brazil practically doubled in 2020, going from 94,416 in 2019 to 186,071 in 2020, according to data from the Brazilian Forum for Public Security, an increase of 97.1% in one year.

In total, last year, there were more than two million active private firearms in Brazil, including the categories of hunters, collectors, sport shooters, and the private firearms of police and other public security professionals and military personnel of the Army.