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Project Forecasts Billion-Dollar Revenue with Taxation of Large Digital Platforms to Finance Satellites and National Internet Network, in the Name of Brazilian Digital Sovereignty.
The federal deputy Paulo Guedes (PT-MG) presented to the Chamber of Deputies a bill that proposes the creation of a new contribution on digital services.
The measure aims to collect up to R$ 50 billion per year to fund both the implementation of a national internet address system (IP/DNS) and the development of low-orbit satellites capable of providing internet in remote areas and a proprietary geolocation system, similar to GPS.
The proposal was named Social Contribution on the Ownership of Internet User Interface Systems (CPSI) and was filed in July.
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The text awaits analysis by the President of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), to begin processing.
Taxation on Big Techs in Brazil
According to the project, the new tax will target platforms and online services with more than 3 million active users in Brazil.
The tax will apply to search engines, social networks, email providers, and other digital services.
The parliamentarian estimates that the largest share of revenue will come from the so-called “big techs”, such as Google and Meta, which may have to pay up to R$ 3 billion per year each, according to the established cap.
The goal is to ensure stable resources to finance brazilian digital sovereignty.
According to Guedes, the design of the CPSI aims to limit the possibility of passing the cost on to the consumer.
He argues that since the prices charged by platforms are generally not directly linked to local taxes, there would be little room for transferring the tax burden to the end user.
Project Defends Digital Sovereignty
The deputy justifies the proposal based on Brazil’s dependence on systems controlled by other countries.
Currently, GPS is managed by the United States, while communication satellites that provide internet in hard-to-reach places are mostly foreign as well.
“The systems we use today can be cut off or have their functions limited at any time for political or commercial reasons,” he stated.
For him, a national internet certification system, combined with proprietary satellites, would represent a “cry for digital independence” similar to what countries like China, Russia, and India have already done.
In addition to strategic security, Guedes emphasizes that the existing infrastructure in Brazil could accelerate implementation.
“We have most of the tools available, and the cost would be much lower than the expected revenue from the project,” he said.
Experts Criticize the Proposal
Despite the author’s defense, technology experts raise criticisms of the proposal.
The technology director Thiago Ayub believes that the project may create new problems instead of solving current ones. According to him, Brazil already has alternatives in some of the mentioned services.
In the case of geolocation, in addition to American GPS, there are constellations available such as Galileo (Europe), GLONASS (Russia), and BeiDou (China).
For satellite internet, Starlink, from Elon Musk, leads the market, but other projects are advancing, such as Kuiper, from Amazon, and initiatives under development in China.
Ayub also highlights that functions such as IP and DNS management are already carried out in the country by the Internet Management Committee in Brazil (CGI.br), a nonprofit entity funded locally.
“In this aspect, the proposal creates structures that are already functioning well, which could mean duplication of efforts,” he stated.
How the New Taxation Would Work
In an interview, Guedes explained that the CPSI tax will be annual. The calculation will be based on a fixed amount in reais, modulated by the size of the network of users served by each company.
He reaffirmed that the cap of R$ 3 billion per taxpayer should apply only to the largest global companies.
When questioned about the impact on the country’s tax burden, the parliamentarian argued that the contribution differs from traditional taxes as it only targets the earnings of digital platforms.
For him, this reduces the chance that Brazilian consumers will feel the weight of the new tax.
Guedes also refuted criticisms that existing services in Brazil, such as those operated by CGI.br, would be sufficient.
In the deputy’s view, the central issue is not just technical provision, but national control over the network. “There is no sovereign Brazil without digital sovereignty,” he said.
Next Steps for the Project
The complementary bill depends on the President of the Chamber’s dispatch to be distributed to thematic committees. If it advances, it will still need to pass through the House floor before moving to the Senate.
Meanwhile, the debate divides opinions between those who see in the proposal an opportunity to reduce external dependency and those who warn of the risks of increasing bureaucracy and creating redundant structures.
Should Brazil invest in a proprietary internet and geolocation system or focus efforts on integrating with globally available solutions?
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