Taxes: Jumbled and Endemic
Antonio Ferrera, our taxi driver, noted that he pays (converted to U.S. dollars) about $1,700 a year in insurance for his taxi and $1,000 in vehicle taxes before he drives a kilometer. Furthermore, a set of four new tires costs him about $600. What does he get for his trouble? The Federal government gives him a very generous allowance to buy/trade in his taxi. Thus, his out of pocket cost for his taxi is not much. This kind of example ripples through the economy - the government takes here, gives there - in essence making social and fiscal policy down to the micro level. Of course, it takes a large bureaucracy to process all of this money. Surely, also, there is ample opportunity in both the government receipt and expenditure area for corruption to thrive. Is this system better than that of the U.S., which tends to tax incomes and real property more than "stuff"? Actually, both are probably extremes. Brazilian taxes favor those with large incomes and real estate holdings; there is no capital gains tax here and real estate taxes are only levied at the city level and are quite small. For example, the house in which we live is valued at about $180,000. Real estate taxes are about $400 a year. The vehicle tax on Antonio's wife's car (valued much less as it is small and used) is about the same amount as the house taxes. Thus, the poor and middle classes pay a larger proportional share of income to the gov’t than do the wealthy.
Lots of News
We are buying a lot, perhaps for a personal residence. It is 420 square meters or about 4,000 square feet - not big. But it's enough for a house and small yard. The lot has a very nice view of the "serra" or high plateau to the southwest of us. The little plaza in front will guarantee that we'll not have the view blocked. The cost? About $14,000. I think it will prove to be a solid purchase. Let's see.
Heloisa and the Gang
Last year our 8-year old Heloisa (Helo) had some difficulties with a group of girls who were bullying her and calling names, etc. This year, when school started last week, it began anew. A concerned father, I fired off an email to the Director Fatima Mayuni. Fatima was taken aback by the directness of my approach and by the very fact I, the father, contacted her. It was out of character for a father to be so concerned about the kids... the mother usually did these kinds of things. Ya gotta understand… these kids are my mission in life. So, I have an extremely vested interest in promoting their well being. The upshot? Fatima and her staff convened the parents (separately) and did some fact-finding. Turns out that Heloisa was desired by her friends and this other group. The other group was trying to convince her, through intimidation I guess, to join them. Helo wanted to change classes, but I said that the problem if not faced now would just re-surface. After all, I was a kid, right? I told Helo to ignore verbal insults but when anything got physical, that was the time to take action. Let's see how this turns out.
Jose Carlos
While we're on the subject of kids (my favorite subject next to income investing) let's look at Jose Carlos. He is quite talented with his hands and in storytelling. He has always made useful stuff from scrap. His latest creations are little kites, made of tissue paper and strips of bamboo he finds in the countryside. He glues them together and puts a little tail on them. I think he's made about 5 kites in the last couple of months. He is also a decent story teller, making up as he goes. His math? Ugh. He can't seem to keep it in his head. So who is completely well rounded? The kid has talents, which should be rewarded. But he must finish school, too.
Jovana
She had chicken pox a couple of weeks ago. With skin meds, she pulled through fine without much scratching. She recovered from her fall last weekend… quite an ordeal. She and Helo were playing at a friend's house when Jovana was kind of abandoned after climbing a tree. Helo put a garden chair under her and walked away. Jovana did not call for more help, proceeded to descend and slipped. She cut her foot notably on an edge of the iron chair. Interestingly, the friend's mother was of little help… she didn't even call to notify us or to help carry Jovana home, bloody foot and all. Her daughter, Helo and cousin Juliani carried Jovana the 2-3 blocks to our house.
Eliene rounded on Helo right away for not taking care of Jovana. I interceded (as often do when Eliene gets heavy-handed with Helo) and the situation was somewhat stabilized. Eliene was completely freaked out by the bloody foot... the bleeding did not want to stop (but it eventually did). As Eliene was leaving for the doctor, all anxious but accompanied by her calmer 28 year old cousin, she said, "Sai da minha frente,” or get out of my way to me as she was leaving. I responded with, “Sai da minha vida,” or get out of my life. Lots of smoke and fire, folks, but it was the kind of fire you see in cartoons - it doesn't burn. Denise (the cousin) stayed with Jovana in the Dr.’s office... Eliene was too nervous. She stood outside the clinic. A week later, Jovana is fine. She had some vaccinations, too… suspect DPT and maybe typus… she was bit feverish for about 36 hours afterwards. She is fine now, her usual self.
