Senator Izalci Lucas (PL-DF) called for greater oversight of the illegal online gambling market. According to him, the government has not yet adopted measures to control the sector and criticized the lack of oversight by the Central Bank, the Federal Revenue Service and the Ministry of Treasury.
According to the senator, illegal betting sends resources abroad without paying taxes, which caused a loss of R$300 billion in 2023. The parliamentarian made the speech this Tuesday (2), in the Federal Senate.
Control over illegal betting
“The Central Bank does not carry out any control or supervision of payment institutions. Therefore, many illegal institutions send funds abroad via payment institutions without paying a cent, and this amounts to more than R$30 billion per year.”
“And we realized, and the Central Bank itself recognized, that it does not have the tools to monitor payment institutions because many of them, those that are being used, are not under the control of the Central Bank. We suggested a change, and I hope the government does this as soon as possible,” he said..
Increase in IOF
Izalci also criticized the increase in the Financial Transactions Tax (IOF) rate. According to the senator, the government disrespects the principle of annuality, as provided for in the Tax Code, by increasing the tax by up to 300% without prior notice. The senator cited examples of entrepreneurs who had their financing made unviable by the increase in the IOF.
“IOF is not a tax on revenue, you cannot create a tax for companies or individuals without planning. The law is clear! In the Tax Code, you have to follow the principle of annuality, you cannot create a tax and have it come into effect the next day.”
“There is an annual principle, you can’t, you have to create it a year in advance; in the case of contributions, the ninetieth, 90 days. But not here, they take the IOF and the next day they increase the rate, 300%. Is the objective to collect revenue? In all the minister’s statements, the objective of the IOF was to cover the deficit gap”, he concluded.
It is worth remembering that the decree increasing the IOF was overturned in Congress on June 25. The government was already looking for alternatives and issued a Provisional Measure (MP) that includes the taxation of sports betting, known as bets, among other measures. However, the measures face resistance in Congress and were harshly criticized by betting industry associations.
