In the uproar that accompanied the agony of the provisional measure, it was noted, as if it were a fact of life, that the government gave up on increasing the taxation of bookmaker profits from 12% to 18%. In negotiating this MP, several sectors of the economy sought their share of benefits or escaped the lion’s teeth of the Revenue. O took his slice, the stationery gang took cover. After a lot of conversation, despite being dehydrated, the alternative MP collapsed. The government will have to look for other ways, as it does not like the idea of cutting expenses.
However, one question remained: how did the bookmakers manage to lower their rate from 18% to 12%? The Widow would lose R$1.7 billion in 2026. Mystery. It is worth remembering that betting houses already move more money than the century-old animal game. According to , it would be up to R$30 billion per month.
Tax policies reflect aspects of the societies where they are applied. You get to know Italy in the 19th century better if you know that there were inspectors to prevent people from taking sea water to make pasta. In Brazil in the 21st century, bookmakers have shown that they have enough power to bite off a third of a new Income Tax rate. They achieved this without much debate.
Pressured by Congress, the governments of and opened the country to gambling and generated a new market of influence. When an agribusiness representative wants a benefit, he argues that he produces soy and corn and supports the economy. Banks provide services. Automakers make cars. Bookmakers don’t produce anything. It was more than reasonable to tax your profits at 18%.
The feat was so extraordinary that the tax rate fell without its overthrow having exposed the fingerprints of its patrons. What was 18% simply became 12%.
Lobbies are a dangerous thing, especially in Brasília. It is natural for a productive sector to hire an office to defend its interests. Legalized betting houses coexist with similar illegal ones and even with bookshops that are related to organized crime. It was a bad idea to lower the tax rate in the dark of Brasília.
As the provisional measure turned into vinegar, the government will look for other ways to satisfy its hunger for revenue, and the issue will return. If the government calculates that it can raise R$2 billion annually from bookmakers, that’s fine.
What remains on the table is the perception of the betting house lobby’s firepower, and it has proven to be powerful. With Congress doing what it does, powerful bookmakers are a bad idea. And they have already fried a CPI.
In an elitist perception, Congress is influenced by the Bible, bull and bullet benches. The Bible is the best-selling book, agriculture supports the economy, and a large part of the population thinks that a good criminal is a dead criminal. Adding a group of bookmakers to this cocktail will be a flirtation with the criminal suburbs.
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