Brazil's government considers taxing big techs if revenue falls short

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's Finance Ministry said on Monday that if there is a shortfall in revenue, it will submit proposals to Congress in this year's second half to tax big tech companies and implement a global minimum tax of 15% on multinational corporations to secure the 2025 fiscal goal.

In a presentation on the 2025 budget bill sent to Congress on Friday, which projects a primary surplus of 3.7 billion reais next year, the Finance Ministry estimated potential revenue of 17.9 billion reais from the increase in certain income taxes.

In a separate bill submitted on Friday to lawmakers, the government proposed changes to the social contribution tax on corporate income (CSLL) and interest on equity payments (JCP).

The ministry estimated raising 58.5 billion reais from tax negotiations next year, including 30 billion reais from a new dispute resolution program for large taxpayers to be launched in 2025 following an agreement made this year with state-owned oil giant Petrobras.

"Companies that approached us estimated paying 130 billion reais in settlements, but we included 30 billion reais in the 2025 budget bill," the ministry said.

The ministry also forecast an additional 28.5 billion reais through rulings by Brazil's Federal Administrative Council of Tax Appeals (CARF), which handles taxpayer administrative cases.

According to the ministry, correcting tax distortions will add another 20 billion reais in revenue next year.

(Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Mark Porter)