Investments in data centers are paralyzed while companies wait for the vote on the provisional measure for Redata, a special tax regime for the sector, according to the ABDC (Brazilian Association of Data Centers).
According to sector entrepreneurs and representatives of big technologies, the legal uncertainties caused by the resolution of Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency), which began to require certification of this equipment, as well as the delay in the approval of Redata, are holding back investments. The program reduces the federal tax rate to zero on products purchased by companies that build these complexes in the country.
“Since (Finance) Minister Fernando Haddad announced Redata in May, major investments have been frozen, awaiting tax benefits. In the meantime, several other countries have already implemented incentives and are attracting large investments,” says Luís Tossi, vice-president of the ABDC.
He cites Argentina, which has the RIGI program (Regime of Incentives for Large Investments), with tax advantages for investments in technology and energy. OpenAI and Sur Energy have signed a letter of intent for a US$25 billion (R$136 billion) investment in a 500-megawatt data center in Patagonia.
TikTok announced this year that it would invest in a 300 megawatt data center in Ceará, in the Complexo do Pecém, with an investment of 200 billion reais in the first phase, coming from several partners. The project will benefit from tax advantages from export processing zones.
But, according to Tossi, other than that, there have been only scattered announcements of small-capacity data centers this year, due to fiscal uncertainty.
According to ABDC, Brazil has 163 data centers, most of them small. The United States has 5,381, Germany 521, the United Kingdom 514 and China 449.
Analysts estimate that Brazil could receive around 60 billion reais in investments in this equipment over the next four years.
The government had reached an agreement to include Redata in PL 2338 (IA PL), which provides tax exemptions on the acquisition of electronic components and other information and communication technology products. This would be a way to gain support for the regulatory framework on artificial intelligence, as this measure attracts strong interest from the energy and technology sector.
PL 2338 was approved in the Senate in December 2024 and is currently being processed in the House. It was hoped that the project’s rapporteur in the Chamber, MP Aguinaldo Ribeiro (PP-PB), would deliver the report at the end of November, but tensions between the government and the Chamber got in the way.
According to the Leafthe government maintained hope that the report would be presented next week and put to a vote. But, according to the Jota portal, the President of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), told his interlocutors that it would not be possible to vote on the text before the parliamentary recess.
With this, the pressure returns for Congress to analyze Redata’s MP 1318/2025, presented on September 18 and which could expire if not examined in the coming weeks. Rep. Aguinaldo Ribeiro is expected to be the measure’s rapporteur.
IA PL is an issue dear to the government and to ministers of the Federal Court like Gilmar Mendes. But, according to big tech representatives and those involved in the text’s negotiations, there are still points without consensus, which could end up being left aside, such as the imposition of copyright on data used in training AI models. This point faces strong opposition from internet platforms.
Another point without consensus is the nature of AI lists considered high risk and subject to greater scrutiny. The proposition was that they were exemplary and could be expanded by the regulatory authority to take into account technological innovations. Big Tech thinks this creates legal uncertainty and insists on exhaustive lists.
“The rapporteur of PL 2338, who should also report on MP 1318, informed us that there is an agreement in Congress to guarantee the vote on Redata if there are difficulties in advancing the legal framework for artificial intelligence. The ABDC is closely following this process,” says Tossi.
Redata is criticized by environmentalists and the left for the environmental impact of data centers, which consume a lot of water and energy. But the tax incentives provided for in the measure are subject to preconditions, such as the use of renewable energy; the provision, for the internal market, of at least 10% of the processing, storage and data processing capacity; and compliance with water efficiency parameters.
In the meantime, Anatel Resolution 780, which establishes mandatory certification and approval of data centers, is beginning to be implemented. ABDC and entities representing technology companies such as Câmara-e.net, Conselho Digital, AlAI and Brasscom (Association of Information and Communication Technology Companies) published a public letter last week taking a stance against the measure.
The entities claim that nothing similar is being done in other countries, that data centers are already subject to various licenses and that this rule will increase costs and hinder investments.
According to Resolution 780, data centers that are part of telecommunications networks will have to be approved by Anatel, which will evaluate their energy efficiency and environmental practices.
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