Revenue secretary stated that measure aims to balance the system and that most digital financial companies already fit the 15% rate
The Federal Revenue Secretary, Robinson Barreirinhas, said on Wednesday (27.2025) that the changes in taxation proposed by the IOF MP do not discourage fintechs, but aim to balance the national financial system.
Earlier, the Finance Minister had argued to tax and supervise fintechs as the big banks.
Barreirinhas attended a public hearing on the Special Joint Commission to discuss the MP and answered questions from senators, deputies and representatives of the financial sector.
The secretary dedicated a significant part of his speech to addressing the taxation of fintechs. “Most fintechs already fit the 15%rate. The 9% rate applies only to a few payment institutions, many of which are actually major players on the market, ” stated.
Barreirinhas argued that taxation on the result does not harm small fintechs, which usually have no profit. The measure, he said, focuses on the largest institutions.
The secretary also argued that MP aligns financials and capitalization companies with a rate of 20% of banks, justifying the change with the fact that these companies have grown in volume and profitability.
Regarding capitalization companies, he classified them as something closer to a bet than an investment, which would justify differentiated treatment.
He also mentioned that the MP reinforces the inspection against illegal bets and blames financial institutions, including fintechs, which move funds for these operations.
Cryptocurrency
The secretary addressed the taxation of cryptocurrencies, stating that Brazil is at the forefront of sector regulation, with the objective of giving more legal certainty to the market. He explained that the country was one of the first to regulate the collection of information on crypto transactions and is aligned with international agreements from the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development).
Barreirinhas justified the increase of 6 percentage points in BETS tax and other activities – 12% to 18% – stating that extra collection will be directly destined to the Ministry of Health for health problems related to these activities.
According to the secretary, the proposal is the result of a long dialogue with the financial sector and meets old claims, such as the unification of rates and the compensation of losses. “It is the heart of this provisional measure”he said.
