Mobile Time – 26/02/2026
By Isabel Butcher
Illustration produced by Mobile Time using AI.
The relief of voting and approval of Redata The vote in the Chamber of Deputies in the early hours of February 24th, into Wednesday, February 25th, didn't last long. The Senate, which was supposed to vote urgently on the... PL 278/2026, The bill was not even put on the agenda. The president of the house, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), is reportedly dissatisfied with the Executive Branch's handling of the negotiations on the subject.
On the other hand, companies saw, in less than 24 hours, the much-desired tax benefits come closer and, as if by magic, disappear. Making Redata (a tax incentive program) largely intangible at the moment.
For the Brazilian Association of Software Companies (Abes), The alternative exists, but it is complicated and difficult to implement, as it involves flexibility in article 29 of the 2026 Budget Guidelines Law (LDO), which prohibits the "expansion, extension or prolongation of tax expenditure". And Redata is a waiver of federal revenue and, therefore, a tax expenditure.
“"Do we have an alternative? Yes, we do, but it would involve a relaxation of article 29 of..." LDO”This is a plan B,” says Marcelo Almeida, director of Government Relations at Abes, in a conversation with Mobile Time. The organization is in talks with the Ministry of Finance and has already suggested a plan B. “"Freeze Bill 278, process a supplementary bill to amend the Budget Guidelines Law and remove the prohibition on tax exemptions. Then, approve the supplementary bill in the Chamber of Deputies and, subsequently, approve Bill 278 in the Senate," he explains.
Among the challenges to implementing Plan B is that the PLP (Proposed Law) needs an absolute majority to be approved. In other words, at least 257 votes in favor are needed in the Chamber of Deputies in two rounds of discussion and voting.
Redata, elections and validity
Almeida explains that this alternative depends on the federal government and a great deal of coordination. Another point is that other sectors and industries, seeing the benefits given to data centers through tax exemptions in 2026, will also want to benefit from this same source.
“We believed that Redata could be an attractive element, but now I think time will be unforgiving,” Almeida adds. The expert also mentions the Fiscal Responsibility Law, which imposes spending restrictions and mandates budgetary balance for the federal government, as well as states and municipalities, in an election year – and we are in an election year. This includes a ban on offering tax breaks, meaning that the Redata program could not be implemented.
Therefore, Almeida believes that the opposition will play hardball and, if the government manages to implement the alternative, the opposition is capable of trying to prevent the plan from being implemented.
According to ABES, members such as AWS, Microsoft, Alibaba, and Huawei are eagerly awaiting Redata. However, the tax exemption policy for data centers would only benefit companies in 2026. From 2027 onwards, the game changes with the implementation of the Tax Reform, which eliminates the tax incentive policy. In other words, Redata only works this year. After that, it expires and loses its function.
As Almeida explains, the relationship from next year onwards will be one of debit and credit. In other words, a company pays the CBS (Contribution on Goods and Services, one of the new taxes created in the Tax Reform.This generates credit within the production chain for other operations. "That's why we wanted Redata to be approved last year," he laments.
Other entities
Other organizations also sent statements to Mobile Time regarding the incident.
"THE Brazilian Association of the Electrical and Electronic Industry (Abinee) "It reinforces the appeal for an urgent solution to be found that allows the voting on Bill 278/2026, which creates Redata. The association is making itself available to Congress and the Executive Branch to dialogue in the search for a way to enable the approval of the matter," wrote the Brazilian Association of the Electrical and Electronic Industry in a statement sent to this news outlet.
THE Brazilian Association of Information and Communication Technology and Digital Technology Companies (Brasscom) The statement maintained the same tone. “Brazil continues to widen its trade deficit in Computer and Information services — which has already exceeded US$7.9 billion in 2025 — while global investors await the necessary legal certainty to invest resources without digital infrastructure in our territory,” said the ICT business representative, in a statement signed with ABES and... Abria (Brazilian Association of Artificial Intelligence).
According to Brasscom, the absence of Redata penalizes the entire Brazilian society – from workers who use technology to entrepreneurs, from young students to citizens who use platforms for entertainment. "Without competitive computing infrastructure in Brazil, we pay more, depend more on foreign countries, and do not advance in technological autonomy," it continues.
In a recent conversation with Mobile Time, Fabiano Alves, municipal secretary of economic development and innovation of Uberlândia, sees Redata as essential for competitiveness not only for Uberlândia, but for all of Brazil. “If there are no import incentives, it might not make sense for (data center) companies to invest and be in Brazil. There are other costs, such as energy, but in a way, energy is not a very high cost.
It's worth remembering that the city in Minas Gerais will receive an AI-focused data center from RT-One, in an investment valued at R$ 6 billion. The company has already submitted a request for a technical study for the implementation of the activity, with opinions from all the involved bodies.
