Senator Irajá Silvestre (PSD-GO) presented last week, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a bill to authorize casinos in Brazil. The proposal had been sewn behind the scenes for months, with the endorsement of the Bolsonaro government, represented in the debate by Senator Flávio and the Minister of Tourism, Marcelo Álvaro Antônio.
According to the proposal, the Contribution for Intervention in the Economic Domain (Cide) would affect the net monthly revenue of gambling, with a rate of 5%.
The text presented by the senator brings the concept of net revenue from gambling: "Corresponds to the amount of the total value of bets placed, including credits granted to customers, subtracting the total value of the prizes paid to customers in any form as a result of the bets."
The money for this specific tax would be distributed among states, municipalities and the Ministry of Tourism, respecting the following percentages: 50% for the Municipality Participation Fund (FPM), 30% for the State Participation Fund (FPE) and 20% for “International promotion of tourism.” With this division, advocates for the liberation of casinos, led by Centrão, are seeking support from mayors and governors. The intention is to vote on the proposal in Congress in 2020.
According to the project, the tax would exist as long as the casinos' concession lasts, that is, 35 years, renewable for the same period. "The funds raised with the payment of the concession grant will be used exclusively for the construction of popular housing in the respective state where the concession occurs."
The proposal also provides that the Executive Branch is responsible for regulating, supervising and controlling casino operations, “as well as applying the applicable sanctions.”
Since last year, Jair Bolsonaro has been pressured by leaders of Centrão and his own son Flávio to change his mind about the legalization of gambling. During the campaign, the then candidate said that casinos served to "launder money" and "destroy families". The evangelical bench is vehemently opposed to the gaming sector.
Earlier this year, one of the parliamentarians involved in the debate said that "the president's eyes shine" when asked to imagine the Costa Verde - south coast of Rio de Janeiro, where the Bolsonaro family has a home - full of casinos by the sea.
Perônico
Expedito Perônico started in journalism in 1982, in Campina Grande (PB). He went through the newsrooms of several newspapers in Paraíba, was a reporter for Jornal do Brasil, and a correspondent in Roraima for Correio Braziliense and Folha de S. Paulo. He was Secretary of Communication in the 1st term of Governor Ottomar Pinto, advisor to the Legislative Assembly and Chief of Staff in the Chamber of Deputies. In 2015 he decided to enter electronic journalism with the inauguration of the Blog do Expedito Perônnico, where he works behind the scenes of local politics with exclusive information about politics, behind the scenes and power.
