People who charge additional fees on Pix will be subject to legal action, says Haddad

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ordered the government to take legal action against those who spread false information about Pix taxation, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said this Wednesday.

There are actions to be taken in the criminal sphere, including against cases of scams carried out by people who are charging additional fees for using Pix under the false claim that the transaction is taxed, added the minister in an interview with journalists.

“It is against those who are spreading fake news and those who are carrying out scams… There could be a crime against the popular economy. The Federal Attorney General’s Office (AGU) was called to take action,” he said.

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This month, the Federal Revenue published a rule that requires fintechs to provide information on citizens who move more than a certain amount, including payments, transfers and Pix — a requirement that already existed for traditional banks.

The new rule reduced the requirement for accountability by institutions to lower amounts. Movements exceeding R$5,000 per month per person will be monitored — and R$15,000 in the case of companies. Until the change, information was presented for transactions above R$2,000 per citizen and R$6,000 per company.

The disclosure of the rule has been used on social media by opponents of Lula’s administration, who claim that the government intends to tax transactions made by Pix — information that the IRS assures is false.

Tax reform

In the interview, Haddad also stated that he will spend the day in meetings with Lula about the sanctioning of tax reform regulations, which should be completed on Thursday.

According to him, the president will make vetoes that will not touch on the merits of the project, but only on technical issues.

The minister also stated that the government is working to quickly regulate the cost containment measures approved by the National Congress at the end of last year, which will allow the approval of this year’s Budget.