Thinking it's time for an article in english too. Maybe around the world do exist laws about micro-enterprises that remember brazilian ones, as enterprises world go changing as time pass by. When talking about enterprises decades ago, our imagination associated them to millionaires and billionaires. Commerce and services all needed physical expensive space, items and tools, so no surprise. Some kinds of MEI still need physical space, items and tools, but the online ones can open without spending a single cent, when the only item we need is a pc or notebook and/or a mobile.
But what exactly is a MEI?
It stays for Individual Micro-Enterpreneur (Micro-Empreendedor Individual in portuguese). Thanks God very much I opened mine just 2 months ago, cause its benefits. I was yet an online worker since several years, but I came to know the possibility for a teacher and online worker like me to open a MEI only this year.
Benefits being MEI:
-social security retirement if we keep on with MEI 18 years long
-social security welfare in case of pregnancy, illnesses and disabilities
-no heavy burocracy when our activity isn't classified as dangerous (teaching, publishing articles, selling photos and similar aren't obviously dangerous)
-no waiting several months being authorized to open, as opening is immediate after an online form to fill
-no high rate taxes, as we only pay a cheap monthly fee to social security (this year the value is between 55 and 60 reais -echanged now to 11 to 12 dollars-, depending on activity being commerce, services or both)
-good for teachers and freelancers
Clearly, we have obligations too:
-the small fee to social security
-the yearly MEI tax return, separated from personal tax return
-keeping correctly a book entry records
-no more than one employee after us (no danger, as I'm more than enough)
-if overcoming 80 thousand BRL (reais) earnings (no, I'm not into this danger, as my income is crumbs), we must pass from MEI to ME (microemprendedor -micro-entrepreneur-, having much more burocracy and enterprise expenses)
-if activity changes to another non covered by MEI laws (doctors, lawyers, psychologists, architects, etc.): the same as above, pass to ME
That's a resume of what MEI is and why I opened one in my former country was only a dream. I thank God very much this dream came true, praying Him I could be able to stick with my MEI overcoming difficulties: my difficulties comes from a vague and incomplete legislation about online earnings foreign currencies and above all cryptocurrencies and I need help with book entry records. Brazil is not used at all to online jobs (here the job is still offline job, as technology is news compared to Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zeland), worse to cryptocurrencies. The idea an entrepreneur paid by cryptocurrecies is not covered by commercial an tax laws, so I need help. I need to keep on with my MEI and praying to be good steward.
A pixabay copiright free image of the book of Proverbs, I thought suits.
