(Reuters) – Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Wednesday that the federal government will tax internet gambling to offset the correction made to the individual income tax table.
“I’ve already spoken with the president (Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva), he’s in favor of it, because gambling around the world is taxed, in Brazil it isn’t”, he said in an interview with the UOL portal.
A source from the Ministry of Finance accompanying the discussions said that the measure will reach online casino and sports betting companies. These companies have grown in popularity in recent years, including sponsoring sports clubs.
According to the minister, the Treasury will send a proposal to regulate these games this month to the Civil House.
Haddad stated that the correction of the table generates a small loss of revenue, which will be recomposed with the taxation of these games. According to him, the taxation model is ready, but the Treasury still needs to better determine the impact of the measure, which would generate a gain “on the order of billions, not many, but some”.
According to the source, who requested anonymity because the discussions are not public, the portfolio’s calculations have been between 2 billion reais and 6 billion reais in annual increase to federal coffers with the measure.
Sought, the Ministry of Finance did not respond immediately.
This month, Lula announced the expansion of the income tax exemption range from 1,903.98 reais to 2,640 reais. The cost of the measure is estimated by the government at 3.2 billion reais this year.
(Reporting by Eduardo Simoes in Sao Paulo; Additional reporting by Bernardo Caram and Marcela Ayres; Editing by Andrew Simoes)