Delito de Opinião

E então, os leitores do Delito são fluentes em Portinglês? Pergunto porque o texto abaixo está nesse dialecto e eu não estou com vagar para traduzir para a nossa língua. É um e-mail enviado a um simpático e antigo cliente e um libelo contra o Estado de Não-Direito em que vivemos. E nele se fala da Santa Inquisição, extinta em 1821, com exagero retórico mas alguma propriedade, e não se fala de inquisidores-mores contemporâneos mas poderia falar-se se o inglês conhecesse, e estivesse interessado, em nomes, caso em que gostosamente lhe indicaria os de Manuela Ferreira Leite, ou Paulo Macedo, ou Paulo Núncio, por exemplo. De espectadores dos autos-de-fé não haveria nada a dizer senão que são muitos: dantes chamavam-se fiéis e agora chamam-se socialistas, mesmo que os próprios a si mesmos se designem, por vezes, como social-democratas ou democratas-cristãos – a língua é muito traiçoeira e a inveja e a cupidez muito humanas.

Hi xxxxxx.

I’m afraid things didn´t turn out for the best. I can’t remember if I’ve ever reported the exact nature of our problems but, just for what it is worth, the story goes like this:

The all thing begun with a blitzkrieg from the fiscal authorities in July 2018, its main steps having been:

i) Seizure of every raw materials and components in existence as of 31st December 2017. Most of it had of course been consumed in production during the previous six months and therefore one is at loss for figuring out the logic or even the sense behind this procedure. Seizure as well, from time to time, of certain components, based on respective delivery notes, a short time after its reception. The procedure makes no sense whatsoever because most of the components are specific to our models and therefore of no use or utility for anyone else;

ii) Seizure of every debt of Portuguese customers, summoned to pay directly to the authorities instead. This entailed a very serious reputation damage indeed, on top of the corresponding drainage of funds;

iii) Seizure of the monthly refund of VAT. This company used to export to the tune of around 90% of its production, charging no VAT, and was therefore entitled to recover most of the VAT she had paid to her Portuguese suppliers. Why on earth does the fiscal authority assume it would be possible to survive with such a permanent and huge drainage of funds defies imagination;

iv) Seizure of the refund of one part of the advanced corporate tax paid last year (it would be tricky to explain exactly the meaning of this, we skip it instead);

v) Seizure of banking accounts, stripped bare;

vi) Seizure of every company cars, including the summoning to deposit respective circulation documents to the fiscal authority in a very short delay;

vii) More than 100 different subpoenas for all these and other alleged malfeasances, fines, supposedly due income tax and VAT, interests, the works.

All this based on the assumption that there were in 2014 sales in excess of 200 complete cold rooms without being invoiced, and skipping therefore the payment of respective VAT. There isn’t any sound basis for this charge, nor any proof other than presumptions, but the all craziness is allowed by the fiscal law, which nowadays gives inspectors powers tantamount to a modern Inquisition and rewards them accordingly.

We were therefore forced to file for bankruptcy, which was declared on the 26^th July last. All the firm’s assets are then being liquidated, a lengthy process I imagine, unlike in England.

So long, xxxxxx. Thanks for all your kind gestures and attention.