Efraim Filho’s amendment proposes a 20% income tax on betting winnings in Brazil, with the legal market risk cited by industry

Brazil’s MPV 1357/2026, the so-called “MP das blusinhas,” has turned into a tax trade-off: tariff relief for small imports on one side, and higher taxation of fixed-odds betting winnings on the other. For PSPs and operators in Brazil, the detail that matters is simple: the 20% figure attached to Senator Efraim Filho is not the same as the 25% proposal in a separate amendment.

1. The text of Amendment No. 14 to MPV 1357/2026, obtained and analyzed by BNLData, shows that Efraim Filho’s proposal would raise income tax on net annual winnings from fixed-odds bets from 15% to 20%. The current rate is 15% on annual net winnings above R$ 28 thousand from sports betting, the so-called bets.
2. A separate amendment, by Senator Hermes Klann (PL-SC), also deals with tax compensation for retail and proposes a different rate: 25% on annual net betting winnings above R$ 28,467.20. The two amendments are being processed in the same joint committee, but they are distinct instruments, with different authors and different rates.
3. MPV 1357/2026 temporarily zeroes Import Tax for purchases of up to US$ 50 made by individuals. The measure expires on Monday (8/9) if Congress does not vote on it by then. During its passage, the MP accumulated 112 amendments, many of them seeking fiscal compensation for domestic retail, often by increasing the tax burden on bets.
4. Efraim Filho’s Amendment No. 14 creates the “Programa Varejo Têxtil Popular,” which would grant a presumed credit of 10% on sales of textiles, clothing, shoes, and accessories priced at up to R$ 250 per item. The limit would be adjusted every 90 days based on the dollar exchange rate, and the program would be exempt from the requirements of the Fiscal Responsibility Law and Complementary Law 224/2025.
5. The betting tax increase does not appear in the amendment’s operative text. It appears only in the justification, which is a useful reminder for anyone reading Brazilian legislative drafts: the commercial headline and the normative text are not always the same thing. In practice, that distinction matters when you are trying to map actual regulatory exposure for operators, PSPs, and acquirers.

The thing is that a higher tax rate on betting winnings can change the appeal of the legal market without changing the underlying demand for wagers. For high-risk payment businesses, the relevant question is not the political slogan attached to the measure, but whether the final text keeps the 20% proposal, moves toward 25%, or dies with the MP on 8/9.