The 16th São Paulo Public Finance Court has this week ruled in favor of Stack Eventos Esportivos, the company that organizes the popular Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP) event, in a case involving the payment of poker taxes in the city.
According to the ruling, which can be appealed by the Municipality of São Paulo, it cancels the collection of the Service Tax (ISS) calculated on the prizes during poker tournaments. The decision sets a positive precedent for other poker operations across the country.
“It’s a decision that leads to the growth of our sector in Brazil, as it provides a broad legal understanding of the functioning of the ecosystem of such a new sport in our country,” said Devanir Campos, technical director of BSOP, as reported by BNL Data.
BSOP had been fined for having failed to pay the ISS tax and had received five notices of tax evasion from the municipality. The tax had been calculated on the collection generated from the sale of tickets of each participant.
Stack assured that “not all collections in the company’s accounts represent revenue subject to the payment of the ISS”.
“Stack has always paid taxes on amounts that, despite being in its checking account, do not constitute company revenue,” argued the event organizer before Judge Thiago Baldani Gomes de Filippo.
The Judge accepted Stack’s arguments and confirmed that the “regularity and legal responsibility of the company in regards to the management of its tournaments were verified”.
Stack CEO Igor Trafane said: “Another decision would’ve been disastrous for several markets. Travel and advertising agencies also depend on the understanding that not all revenue is purely from a company. But this was only possible thanks to the seriousness implemented by Stack to deal with financial transactions.”