This morning, the Plenary rejected seven highlights and concluded the vote on the bill that legalizes gambling in Brazil, including casinos, bingos, Jogo do Bicho and sports betting. The proposal goes to the Senate for consideration.
The deputies maintained the opinion of deputy Felipe Carreras (PSB-PE), who grants permanent or temporary licenses to explore the activity. Each state may have one casino, with the exception of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, which may have two, and São Paulo, with three.
The taxation of gambling was among the most controversial points of the vote. One of the highlights of the PT, rejected by the deputies, wanted to increase the Cide rate from 17% to 30%. “The taxation model is very generous with games, with a small rate compared to the tax burden of other sectors”, lamented PT leader Reginaldo Lopes.
The first vice-president of the Chamber, deputy Marcelo Ramos, noted that the tax burden of the games will be lower than that of basic foodstuffs, such as rice and beans. “A more harmful activity must pay more tax and another less harmful, less. Beer pays more tax than water”, he compared.
Deputy Felipe Carreras considered that the tax model should allow for the attraction of investments. According to the rapporteur, the rate will still be lower than that of the entertainment sector, with an incidence of 16.33%. “You can’t compare a kilo of rice with entertainment. We want to encourage the generation of jobs and income”, he declared.
