Patria Amada: Book explaining Brazil’s tax rules on display at National Congress

Giant book Patria Amada (Beloved Motherland) explaining Brazil’s tax rules has been put on display in front of the National Congress in Brasilia, in protest against the country’s tax system bureaucracy.

The book weighs as much as an African elephant and is taller than a grown man and has 41,266 pages.

“My goal is to invite society to reflect – the country needs a new model rendering life less difficult for firms and taxpayers,’’ tax lawyer Vinicios Leoncio told AFP after unveiling the colossal work.

The 7000 kilo volume lists chapter and verse the myriad fiscal rules and regulations governing life in the continent-sized nation.

According to a 183-nation study, Brazil is “the absolute world leader in terms of tax-related bureaucracy,’’ Vinicios Leoncio said.

He claimed that a Brazilian firm spends 2600 hours a year on its taxes.

“The average in Europe is 180 hours,” Vinicios Leoncio said.

“We are worse than Mozambique, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone – in Brazil we create 35 tax norms per day,” he said.