DIGITAL LIFE

Big tech companies' remittances abroad soar and taxes decline in Brazil

Large technology companies — the so-called big techs — have significantly increased the share of revenue earned in Brazil that is sent abroad between 2014 and 2024. During the same period, the share of taxes on these remittances decreased, even with the significant growth in revenue of the platforms in the Brazilian market.

The data, obtained by Folha de S. Paulo from the Federal Revenue Service, show a consistent movement of expansion of remittances and changes in the tax composition of the sector, which is now embedded in a scenario of discussions about competitiveness, tax burden and regulation of global technology companies.

Revenue sent abroad exceeds half of the total...According to the Revenue Service figures, big techs increased the share of revenue remitted abroad by 323% in the last decade. In 2014, 17.12% of the Brazilian revenue of these companies was sent to other countries. In 2024, the proportion reached 55.66%, exceeding half of the revenue.

The peak occurred in 2023, when remittances represented 61.87% of the total revenue. In absolute terms, the jump was even more evident: from R$ 2.8 billion in 2014 (or R$ 4.93 billion adjusted for inflation) to R$ 80.3 billion in 2024.

Revenue grows 585% in ten years...The gross revenue of the platforms followed this trend. Between 2014 and 2024, the increase was 585%, rising from R$ 21.327 billion (adjusted for inflation) to R$ 144.3 billion.

At the same time, the federal tax burden on gross revenue rose from 17.9% to 22.7%, an increase of 13%. The data considers the operations of Amazon (including AWS), Apple, Facebook, Google, Google Cloud, Microsoft, and Nvidia in Brazil.

Although big tech companies frequently cite the weight of taxes in the country, taxes specifically linked to remittances decreased proportionally during the period. They represented 30.42% in 2014 and dropped to 22.13% in 2024.

The rates, however, did not change. What changed was the profile of the remittances. Remittances for purposes such as royalties, which have a lower average incidence, began to have a greater share. Remittances related to labor income, which usually have higher taxation, lost ground.

Comparison with other sectors of the economy...The Firjan survey — with data from the Federal Revenue Service, National Treasury, Confaz, Caixa, and IBGE — indicates that the technology sector is not among the most heavily taxed in the country.

The largest total burden falls on the manufacturing industry, with 49.2%. At the other end are agriculture and extractive industries, with 8%. Services, a category that includes technology companies, financial institutions, and other segments, appear with 29.7%.

Considering only federal taxes, industry also leads, with 23.2%. Services are in second place, with 16.9%.

In a statement, Jonathas Goulart, chief economist at Firjan, stated that "industry already appears as the sector that pays the most taxes in Brazil," highlighting the weight of ICMS (a state-level sales tax) on industrial production.

Position of technology companies...The Brazilian Chamber of the Digital Economy (camara-e.net), which represents companies such as Amazon, Google, and Meta, argues that the sector is among the country's largest taxpayers and plays a relevant role in Brazilian economic development.

The entity forwarded a technical report prepared by the consulting firm LCA, with data from the Federal Revenue Service, indicating that digital service companies collect, on average, 16.4% of their gross revenue in federal taxes — a value considered more than double the average of other sectors (6.1%).

In companies classified under the actual profit regime, the burden reaches 18.3% of revenue, above the rate for companies under the presumed profit regime, of 12.8%.

Regarding the increase in remittances, the entity states that this practice is part of the natural functioning of global companies, especially in the case of technology operations intensive in intellectual property and international services.

Ana Luiza Figueiredo, Brazil