Originally, the tax substitution (ST) of the State Value Added Tax (Imposto sobre Circulação de Mercadorias e Serviços - ICMS) was conceived / designed to be applied only to sectors of the economy which traded products classified as commodities, with few producing industries and sectors with products with little variety of items and large number of distribution points and sale. This logic made sense from an economic point of view as well as the tax collection efficiency point of view. It turns out that from the year 2008, several Brazilian states, led by the state of São Paulo, expanded the application of the tax substitution for almost all sectors of the economy. This study, using as main methodology, literature, doctrinal and legislative study and collection of collection of data through public portals and industry associations information, aims to analyze whether economic efficiency in the collection of taxes generated by implementation on a large scale, the institute of tax substitution for the ICMS by the government of the state of São Paulo, from 2008, also brought benefits of efficiency and competitiveness for companies from São Paulo, considering the concepts advocated by Joseph Stiglitz on a good taxation.