According to the Minister of Finance, the objective is not to penalize legal sectors, but to adapt the contribution of these activities to the country’s economic reality
The Minister of Finance, , came out in defense this Tuesday (14) of the so-called “BBB taxation” — which affects banks, income from financial investments and sports betting. During a public hearing at the Senate’s Economic Affairs Committee (CAE), he stated that the measure “is only unfair in the minds of people who are uninformed about what is happening in Brazil”.
According to Haddad, the objective is not to penalize legal sectors, but to adapt the contribution of these activities to the country’s economic reality. “Without wanting to malign any economic activity that has legal protection. That’s not what this is about. They are regulated activities. But we have to ensure that these activities correspond, in relation to taxation, with what is the standard of the Brazilian economy”, he explained.
The minister compared the taxation of bets and financial institutions to the surcharge applied to products such as cigarettes and alcoholic beverages, used in other countries to contain negative social impacts. “Nobody thinks it’s unfair to overtax cigarettes or alcoholic beverages. Sectors that produce very negative externalities for society are overtaxed all over the world”, he stated.
Haddad highlighted that Brazil is “even shy about surtaxing”, citing Scandinavian countries as an example. “In certain countries, it is almost unaffordable for you to buy an alcoholic drink. You will pay a lot because every citizen there understands that these activities need to have another type of regulation”, he said.
When commenting on the case of sports betting, the minister argued that the sector must contribute to mitigating the side effects of a type of entertainment that can generate addiction. “It’s not going to an amusement park or a show. It’s another type of entertainment, which generates dependence, it has to be treated in this way”, he stated.
Haddad also signaled that the government could adopt tougher measures if the sector resists the new rules. “Although, in the case of betting, we have the technology today to, if this struggle continues, go into a firmer clash with the sector”, he warned. Finally, the minister reinforced that the proposal does not seek to criminalize any activity. “It’s not demonizing. It’s giving the thing a name. Without any kind of difficulty”, he concluded.
*With information from Agência Brasil
Published by Sarah Paula
