Reciclagem e políticas públicas: a questão da tributação dos materiais recicláveis e reciclados

Abstract

Recycling is a key element in implementing sustainable development, as it helps reduce the impact caused by the indiscriminate and uncontrolled use of natural resources by the capitalist society. Moreover, it is essential in managing, reusing and reducing the generation of waste. Although recycling rests on the economic, environmental and social pillars of sustainable development in an effort to serve the interests of present and future generations, it is only economically viable upon the introduction of public policies and through Government intervention in the economy, designed to increase the marketability of recyclable and recycled material and, consequently, enhance competitiveness with virgin raw materials and the products that may be manufactured using them. Under the Brazilian Constitution, environmental protection is one of the principles of economic relationships. Accordingly, products and services, and the way they are produced and provided, are to receive different treatment according to the impact they have on the environment. In order to achieve this goal, the Government can and must impose limitations on the economic power by using available tools. One example is environmental taxation, whose purpose is not just to collect funds but also to encourage taxpayers to adopt certain behaviors that benefit the environment and discourage any behavior that may be harmful to the environment. This is done by creating the so-called "extra fiscal" taxes, i.e., taxes with social and environmental purposes, subject to the constitutional and statutory limits on the power to tax. Within this scenario, the aim of this paper is to present an analysis of the indirect tax burden on recycling activities in Brazil - the tax on industrialized products (IPI), the tax on the circulation of goods (ICMS) and the service tax (ISS) - and to examine the role of taxation in encouraging recycling activities. Taking into account that no tax incentives at federal, state or local levels are granted in Brazil with the purpose of encouraging recycling activities, governing based on laws that only prescribe what is allowed and what is prohibited becomes a difficult task. Therefore, it is crucial to implement public policies capable of being enforced not only through administrative and criminal instruments, but through economic instruments - taxation included as well. Together, these instruments - concurrently with education and environmental awareness - can contribute more efficiently to the preservation of the environment.