The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes (PSD), announced during Rio Innovation Week that he intends to transform the municipality into a pioneering environment in Brazil for the use of cryptoassets.
In his presentation, alongside the mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, he said he will create Crypto Rio, Rio’s digital currency, and invest 1% of the Treasury in cryptocurrencies. The decree creating a study group to analyze the issue would be published this Friday, January 14.
According to O Globo newspaper, the city hall is also studying the possibility of taxpayers having discounts if they pay taxes with bitcoins. “We will study the legal framework so that we can do this”, said Finance Secretary Pedro Paulo.
Maravalley Port and tax incentives for fintechs
Paes also mentioned Maravalley Port, an area of Porto Maravilha with tax exemptions for tech companies. Suarez, from Miami, adopted a similar initiative to attract Silicon Valley companies to his city. The politician, a bitcoin enthusiast, created MiamiCoin and reduced taxes to foster innovation in the region.
But the city of Rio was not the first in the state to adopt initiatives to attract fintechs. Earlier this year, Maricá, close to Niterói, started offering a tax regime with reduced rates for companies linked to cryptocurrencies related to sustainable projects and green fund managers. The new taxation regime was provided by Complementary Law No. 357, approved by the City Council on 12/30.
