Lula's Tax Cut Lures Google, Amazon, Microsoft to Brazil

Brazil just cut taxes on data-center equipment and offers electricity at less than half the U.S. price. The September 15 REDATA law slashes import duties on qualifying gear and requires ten percent of services for Brazilian users. It also forces a two-percent investment of equipment value into local R&D. Google will double its Brazil cloud capacity by 2030. It also partnered with the football federation to run Gemini on national teams. AWS has spent over $3.8 billion since 2011 and pledged $1.8 billion more through 2034. Microsoft committed $2.7 billion for cloud and AI infrastructure over three years. Brazil's grid runs on about eighty-seven percent renewable power, keeping electricity costs under half U.S. rates. Experts warn new transmission lines are needed and officials disagree on future bill impacts. Currently sixty percent of Brazil's digital data is processed abroad, a gap the law hopes to shrink. James Mercer of Metro Colo says Brazil could become the release valve for U.S. data-center capacity.