Business Opening a business in Brazil Why make it simple?
商业 在巴西做生意 何等简单
Setting up shop has just got easier. But not much
开店变得简单。却没有很多
BRAZIL is not an easy place to start a business.
巴西并不是开店的好地方。
The World Bank ranks it 120th out of 183 countries-worse than Burkina Faso or Nigeria.
世界银行将其在183个国家中列为第120位——比布基纳法索及尼日利亚还糟糕。
Take one small example. Until recently, you needed at least two partners to form a limited-liability company.
试举一例，至今，仍需三人才能成立一家有限责任公司。
Sole traders had to find a "1% sócio"-an employee, friend or family member willing to lend his name to the articles of association, or a shell company set up solely to hold a tiny share.
一人投资者必须寻求一名"1% 合作伙伴"——雇员、朋友或家庭成员同意将他们的姓名列入公司章程或令其占有极少股份而成立的空壳公司中。
Things may have just got a little easier. A new law, which supposedly came into effect on January 9th, allows a lone business-owner to set up an Empresa Individual de Responsabilidade Limitada (Eireli for short): a single-holder limited-liability firm.
要求可能放宽了些。据说一部新法将于1月生效，其中允许一人设立有限责任公司（简称Eireli）。
The main requirement is capital of 62,200 reais ($35,250).
主要的规定是资产额为62,200雷亚尔（35,250美元）。
This is a big deal. Alas, it may not happen as planned.
此举意义重大，唉，或许会事与愿违。
In December the federal body that oversees state business registries told them to turn away firms trying to register Eirelis, as well as foreigners without permanent right of residence.
12月监管公司注册的联邦机构回避关于试图注册一人有限责任公司，以及不具有永久居留身份的外国人所提出的申请。
No reason was given.
对此并未公布相关的理由。
Later, lawyers were briefed that the law's aim was to let Brazilian sole traders protect their personal goods against lawsuits or bankruptcy—not to make life easier for big business or foreigners.
随后，律师被简要告知律师事务所意在保护巴西个体经营者免受诉讼或破产之灾——并不是保障大公司或外国投资者。
Since the restrictions have no basis in the law, challenges are inevitable.
由于这些限制在法律上没有渊源，因此不可避免地存在质疑。
Husam Abboud of Establish Brazil, a company-formation specialist, is thinking of Brazilian-style direct action: simply trying to register an Eireli for a firm or a foreigner, and seeing what happens.
来自Establish Brazil的Husam Abboud ，是一位公司设立的专家，其指出巴西风格的直接效果：只是试图为公司或外国人注册一人有限公司，之后坐观成败。
"We won't be trying just once, but many times," he says cheerfully. "In Brazil, it always depends who's on the desk on the day."
"我们并非仅尝试一次，而是多次," 他语带兴奋地称"在巴西，总是彼时处在台上的人左右决定。"
A few speedy locals have already set up Eirelis.
一些敏锐的本国人已开始设立Eirelis。
"It was quick and easy, because I didn't have to hunt for a partner," says Taise Litholdo, an architect.
"这样简单快捷，而无需寻找合伙人，"建筑师 Taise Litholdo说到。
Sebastiao Lino da Silva, an accountant in Sao Paulo, is helping a medical-research firm, which recently lost a partner, to convert into an Eireli.
圣保罗的会计师Sebastiao Lino da Silva正协助一家失去合伙人的医药研发公司转为一人有限公司。
The remaining owner would otherwise have to find a new partner or close.
该公司目前的所有人希望寻找新的合伙人或以类似的模式延续公司。
Joao Marcelo Pacheco of Pinheiro Neto Advogados, one of Brazil's largest law firms, says that some wealthy clients will use Eirelis to make their lives simpler.
来自巴西最大律所之一Joao Marcelo Pacheco的Pinheiro Neto Advogados称，某些重要客户打算运用Eirelis以令生意更顺遂。
All this amounts to a tweak, not a revolution.
所有这些构成扭转，而非改革。
By January 18th only 14 Eirelis had been registered with Sao Paulo's board of trade, Brazil's biggest.
直至1月18日仅有14家Eirelis成功在巴西最大的圣保罗商业局得以注册。
"The truth is Eirelis are not really suitable for most small businesses," says Mr Abboud. Few hot-dog vendors and hairdressers have enough spare cash to satisfy the capital requirement, he points out.
Abboud称"事实上Eirelis并非适用所有小型企业"，并指出一些卖热狗的商人和美发师手头上就有满足资本限额的闲钱。
That is an argument for scrapping the capital requirement.
放弃资本限额引起一番争论。
The Socialist People's Party, an opposition group, has asked the Supreme Court to rule it unconstitutional for discriminating against micro-traders.
反对党——巴西社会人民党已请求最高法院规范歧视微型贸易者的违宪行为。
Even if foreigners are allowed to set up Eirelis, breaking into Brazil will remain tough.
即使外国投资者被允许设立Eirelis，他们融入巴西仍成问题。
The biggest hurdle—finding a permanent resident willing to hold power of attorney for foreign owners—will remain.
最大的阻碍——寻找一位永久居留者愿意作为外国所有人的代理人——始终存在。
Establish Brazil and its rivals will do this for foreign clients, but only until a local manager has been appointed, or an expatriate has arrived on a permanent business visa.
Establish Brazil及其对手将以同样方式对待其外国客户，但仅需指定一位本地管理人或一位取得永久居留的移民。
The snag is that acting for a foreign firm leaves agents vulnerable to Brazil's capricious tax authorities and labour courts, which tend to ignore limited liability and pursue individual owners.
代理外国公司的中介因容易被巴西反复无常的税收机构及劳动法庭追查而受到牵绊，他们更倾向个人所有者而非有限责任。
"They want to be able to freeze someone's bank account if problems arise," explains Stephen O'Sullivan of Mattos Filho Advogados, another big Sao Paulo law firm. "And if they're the only people in the country, they'll go after the local managers, or even the lawyers."
"发生问题时他们希望冻结某人的银行账户，"另一家律所Mattos Filho Advogados的Stephen O'Sullivan称"若这个国家仅剩下他们，则他们将追寻本地管理人，甚至本地律师。"
Unsurprisingly, Mattos Filho is willing to fulfil this role only for old and valued clients.
不出意外，Mattos Filho 期待在服务已有的尊贵客户的同时能够为更多的公司扮演同样的角色。
Eirelis may eventually make it easier to set up shop in Brazil. But only a little.
在巴西做生意可能因Eirelis 而变得简单。但仅仅是一点点。