In the text approved by the deputies, everything exceeding the exemption threshold of R$2,112 (US$ 420) will be subject to a 30% income tax on the amount wagered. "If you bet R$1,000 (US$ 200) and win R$100 (US$ 20), the taxation is on R$1,100 (US$ 220). It doesn't make sense," argued Senator Coronel.
Since he believes that this discourages regular bettors who place multiple bets, Coronel intends to make a change so that the taxation is based on the player's profit. "You have to tax the capital gains. The way it came from the Chamber encourages the bettor to seek a platform outside the country. Then, they won't pay anything," said the rapporteur.
Senator Coronel is working with the economic team to find a solution for calculating this taxation monthly, taking into account the player's capital gains during that period, similar to how it's done in the stock market.
"It's like the stock market. You keep track throughout the month and settle at the end. If there's a profit, I pay the tax," Coronel explained. The tax is paid by the taxpayer themselves through the Document of Federal Revenue Collection (Darf) by the last day of the month.
In recent weeks, Senator Coronel has discussed the possibility of setting different tax rates for the two segments. In the Chamber's version, the tax rate was set at 18% for both. In the Senate, the rapporteur is considering keeping this rate for online gambling platforms but reducing it to 12% for sports betting. The senator does not rule out setting the rate for both activities at 15%. "On average, whether with differentiated rates or not, it's 15%," he argued.
Another point that can be changed by the senators is the issue of the licensing period. In the Chamber of Deputies, a licensing period of three years was approved. According to Valor's sources, the trend in the Senate is to revert to the original proposal from the Ministry of Finance, which had a licensing period of five years.
Sources from the Ministry of Finance, speaking confidentially to Valor, stated that the changes proposed by Senator Coronel are pleasing to the economic team. The rapporteur's plan is to present his report on November 7. As it is under an urgency regime, the project will start to block the Senate's agenda on November 11.
This week, the rapporteur for the matter in the Senate's Committee on Economic Affairs (CAE) intends to hold a meeting with the economic team and also meet with the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL). The idea is to align the key points with Lira to expedite the process since, with the changes, the project would return to the other Chamber.
In addition to discussions with the Ministry of Finance and deputies, Senator Coronel has also been coordinating the main points of the report with Senator Romário (PL-RJ), who is responsible for the proposal in the Senate's Sports Committee.
Source: Valor
