Despite the renewed postponement of the vote on the Provisional Measure (MP) that changes the taxation of financial assets and imposes a 50% increase in the direct tax on the so-called ‘Bets’, the government's economic team remains confident in the approval of the proposal, considered crucial to closing the 2025 and 2026 budget.
The discussion was scheduled for this Thursday but was postponed to next Tuesday, the day before the MP's deadline, amid resistance from the ruralist caucus and financial sectors.
Representative Carlos Zarattini presented his report on the government's Provisional Measure 1,303 last week, as an alternative to the increase in the Tax on Financial Transactions (IOF). Despite making several changes to various points in the text, he maintained the increase in the betting tax from 12% to 18% of the GGR, as originally proposed by Minister Fernando Haddad.
In response to the request for a collective review, a new meeting was scheduled for this Tuesday (30), when the report will be voted on.
In his report, Zarattini establishes a 7.5% income tax on income from Agribusiness Credit Notes (LCAs) and Real Estate Credit Notes (LCIs). As the representative had previously stated, income from savings accounts, produced by various financial investment securities, is exempt from withholding income tax. Incentivized debentures also remain exempt from income tax.
Another item that remained unchanged in the report compared to the government's original text is the maintenance of the increase in the contribution rate on gross betting revenue (GGR) from 12% to 18%, with the additional 6% allocated to social security for healthcare initiatives. The rapporteur considered this a measure of "fiscal and social justice."
If approved, the bill will be submitted to the full House and Senate. The measure, according to some of the sector's leading players, is a shot in the foot for the government, which is expected to lose revenue, as illegal betting still represents more than 50% of the market, and bettors, faced with less attractive offers, may migrate to unlicensed bookmakers.
Source: GMB
