National basic food basket will have 15 tax-free foods

Fifteen foods in nature or little industrialized will make up the national basic basket and pay zero tax, with the tax reform. The complementary bill that regulates the topic, sent on Wednesday night (24) to Congress, also included 14 products with a tax rate reduced by 60%.

In justifying the project, the government informed that it was based on food in nature or “minimally processed” to define the national basic food basket. The text highlighted that the government followed the recommendations for healthy and nutritionally adequate eating in the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population, from the Ministry of Health.

Although he cited health reasons, some foods with saturated fat, such as soybean oil and butter, or with addictive substances, such as coffee, were included in the national basic food basket. In this case, the justification is that these items are essential in the Brazilian diet and are already part of the traditional basic food basket.

Check out the list of foods in the national basic food basket:

1. rice;
2. bean;
3. milk and infant formulas defined by specific legal provision;
4. butter;
5. Margarine;
6. roots and tubers;
7. coconuts;
8. coffee;
9. soy oil;
10. cassava flour;
11. corn flour, corn groats and groats, crushed or flaked corn kernels;
12. wheat flour;
13. sugar;
14. pastas;
15. common breads (only with cereal flour, yeast, water and salt).

The government has proposed an extended list of zero-rated foods. They are not in the national basic basket, but they also will not pay the Contribution on Goods and Services (CBS) or the Tax on Goods and Services (IBS). Are they:

1. eggs;
2. fruits;
3. vegetable products.

Another 14 types of food had their rates reduced by 60% in the bill:

1. beef, pork, lamb, goat and poultry meat and products of animal origin (except Foie gras), edible offal from sheep and goats;
2. fish and fish meat (except salmonids, tuna; cod, haddock, saithe and roe and other by-products);
3. crustaceans (except lobsters and crayfish) and molluscs;
4. fermented milk (yogurt), beverages and dairy compounds;
5. cheeses such as mozzarella, minas, dish, coalho cheese, ricotta, cottage cheese, provolone cheese, parmesan cheese, unmatured fresh cheese and black cheese;
6. natural honey;
7. Herb tea;
8. flour, cereal groats and groats, crushed grains or cereal flakes (except corn);
9. tapioca;
10. vegetable oils and canola oil;
11. pasta;
12. iodized table salt;
13. natural fruit or vegetable juices without added sugar or other sweeteners and without preservatives;
14. fruit pulps without added sugar or other sweeteners and without preservatives

The project also proposed some cleaning products that will pay a tax rate reduced by 60%. According to the government, these items are widely consumed by the low-income population:

1. toilet soaps;
2. toothpastes;
3. toothbrush;
4. toilet paper;
5. Bleach;
6. bar soaps.

In all cases, the government opted for reduced lists, with priority given to healthy foods or consumption by the poorest population. At the beginning of April, the Brazilian Supermarket Association (Abras) sent a request to the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, to expand the concept of a basic food basket and include some luxury items.

Supermarkets advocated tax exemptions for items such as fatty livers (Foie gras), shrimp, lobsters, oysters, moldy cheeses and mushrooms. Items such as caviar, beer, wine, champagne and chocolate would have a 60% reduction in the rate.

Ultra-processed

Despite the justification of preserving health, in another point of the bill, the government excluded ultra-processed foods from the Selective Tax, which will apply to foods considered harmful to health. Only drinks with added sugar and preservatives will be subject to the tax.

In March, a manifesto signed by doctors such as Drauzio Varella and Daniel Becker, as well as personalities such as chefs Bela Gil and Rita Lobo, called for the inclusion of ultra-processed products in the Selective Tax. Entitled “Manifesto for a healthy tax reform”, the text was supported by organizations such as the Brazilian Nutrition Association (Asbran), the Brazilian Public Health Association (Abrasco) and the Brazilian Institute for Consumer Protection (Idec).