Deputies of Brazil’s Worker Party (PT) government have proposed a 24% charge on Bets licences, the latest attempt to push through a gambling tax rise after two previous schemes were rejected last week.
In what was seen as an embarrassing setback for President Lula da Silva, 251 legislators voted against a proposal tabled by Deputy Carlos Zarattini last week, after he amended the text just hours before the vote to introduce a retroactive tax on betting licences and remove the standard tax increase to 18% GGR previously backed by Finance Minister Fernando Haddad.
Though Zarattini claimed he had adjusted the bill to appease opposition blocs pushing for a retroactive tax on betting licences, they – along with several of President da Silva’s top lieutenants – failed to back the last-minute changes, and the fallout has now forced Haddad to redraft the broader fiscal framework for the 2026 Budget in a bid to mitigate the ongoing deadlock.
It’s understood that President da Silva and Haddad both view the rejection of the bill as an episode that has undermined the PT government’s political credibility ahead of the 2026 general election campaign, and the pair have warned there will be serious repercussions should the deputies fail to find a suitable resolution for the country’s gambling tax affairs before the current year is out.
Following the legislative defeat, pro-tax increase deputies of the PT have responded with Bill 5076/2025. Introduced to the Chamber of Deputies by Lindbergh Farias, a Deputy for the Federal District, the new bill would see the overall tax on betting rise by 24% if approved, with the draft text of the legislation making specific comparisons to other regimes where tax is much higher.
In the bill, Farias wrote the current tax burden facing Brazilian betting firms was “lower than that applied to corporate profits in general” and “well below that practiced in countries like France and Germany” at 55% and 48%, respectively.
“The bill proposes raising this tax to bring it closer to international standards, justifying it as an activity ‘harmful to health and family economy’,” he stated.
The post Brazilian deputies push for 24% rate on betting tax following rejection of retroactive tax plan first appeared on EGR Intel.
Negotiations continue as President Lula da Silva urges PT deputies to settle the South American country’s fiscal and gambling tax affairs before the end of 2025
The post Brazilian deputies push for 24% rate on betting tax following rejection of retroactive tax plan first appeared on EGR Intel.