Senators from the government’s allied base warned Finance Minister Fernando Haddad about the difficulties the federal government will face in approving the bill that increases taxation on sportsbooks and fintechs.
Authored by Senator Renan Calheiros (MDB-AL), the proposal was on the agenda of the Senate’s Economic Affairs Committee (CAE) last Tuesday (4). However, the senators requested more time to analyze the proposal.
According to information from Brasília, the president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), and the rapporteur of the bill in the House, Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM), participated in a meeting with Haddad. On that occasion, the minister listened to the parliamentarians’ questions about the content of the text.
According to the senators, modifications to the bill would be necessary. This is specifically regarding the taxation of fintechs and betting companies. In the politicians’ assessment, at this moment, there are not enough votes to approve the matter, not even in the CAE (Committee on Economic Affairs).
Following the senators’ warning, the minister said he will meet with members of the Presidential Palace to “take the appropriate measures.”
The expectation is that the text will be read next Tuesday (11) in the CAE, however, the project’s vote is not guaranteed. The government’s intention is for the Ministry of Treasury and the senators to communicate before that moment. The objective: to analyze the viability of approving the text.
Because Minister Haddad wants to approve the bill on taxing betting companies.
The bill increases the CSLL (Social Contribution on Net Profit) tax rate from 9% to 15% for fintechs. Regarding taxation on betting companies, the bill increases the tax on GGR (Gross Gaming Revenue) — gross revenue from bets, that is, the total collected minus the value paid in prizes to players — from 12% to 24%.
Haddad noted that the measure seeks to correct tax distortions, not just increase revenue. He explained that Senator Renan Calheiros (MDB-AL) presented the text to make the tax collection more balanced among sectors.
