The Agriculture Minister has promised to simplify the tax bureaucracy for small scale farmers but said that there would be no changes to the Social Security contribution or tax registration rules for the sector.
Small farmers have until the end of January to declare their activity at Finanças and from then on must issue receipts for every transaction, however inconsequential.
The Minister of Agriculture announced today that there soon would be changes to "simplify and facilitate" the activity of small farmers, but did not say what or how, "we are adopting a set of changes, since we are talking about small production, production for self-consumption, local sale and local trade."
Assunção Cristas was asked about the recent protests from small farmers over the payment of Social Security contributions which in some cases will exceed their income. The minister said there was no change, the exemptions that exist will stay but there are no new rules to help this sector.
Farmers with a commercial activity, i.e. being a farmer, in addition to paying monthly Social Security, will now be required to declare their operation at Finanças and must issue a receipt for each and every transaction.
"There is no change in the sense that the Social Security exemptions remain,” said Cristas, sill unwilling to explain what the ‘simplification’ she proposed actually involves.
According to Cristas "from the point of view of Social Security and from a taxation standpoint, there are no changes with regard to the amounts to be paid and they need to register at Finanças."
The Agricultural Minister soon may be presiding over the collapse of the small farming sector which is being forced to retrench and barter, or to operate outside the new laws that seek to account for the sale of every egg and carrot in the country.
Certainly the presence of many small scale farmers at local markets is now in doubt as many will just not bother to trade, preferring to produce food only for themselves and neighbours.
