David Vélez’s fiscal move exposes a harsh truth: staying trapped in Brazil’s tax system is expensive — and it can destroy any business that doesn’t seek international alternatives.

Every year, Brazil’s tax pressure pushes more entrepreneurs to look for legal routes of asset protection.

In 2025, one emblematic case gained global attention: Nubank’s founder, David Vélez, sold R$ 2.3 billion in shares.

If he still lived in Brazil, he would have paid around 25% in capital gains tax — nearly R$ 500 million.

But Vélez no longer lives in Brazil.

Since 2022, he shifted his tax residency to Uruguay, one of the smartest countries in the world when it comes to tax structure.

There, foreign-sourced income is taxed at 0%.

And that difference saved him half a billion reais — money that would have gone to the government but instead stayed in his hands.

He is not alone. Founders of major Latin American giants — like Mercado Livre and other tech companies — followed the same strategy.

And they do it for one simple reason: people with assets know how to protect themselves.

And you don’t need to be a billionaire to start.

Brazil Is Becoming Unviable for Those Who Produce

Entrepreneurship in Brazil has become an act of resistance.

Brazil has one of the highest tax burdens in the world, combined with heavy bureaucracy, legal instability and taxes on everything — including international profits.

Meanwhile:

• Uruguay: 0% on foreign-sourced income
• Brazil: up to 25% just on capital gains
• Uruguay: legal predictability
• Brazil: constant changes that scare even global investors

The math simply doesn’t work — and that’s why big names are leaving.

Experts warn that anyone who keeps their company or assets exclusively in Brazil is exposed to:

• massive tax losses
• progressive tax increases
• direct risk to business survival
• slow “confiscation” through aggressive taxation

Staying inside the Brazilian tax regime means accepting the State will take a larger and larger share of everything you produce — and there is no forecast of relief.

Those Most Affected: Entrepreneurs, Investors and High-Growth Professionals

The damage hits especially:

• digital business owners
• investors with international income
• entrepreneurs with accumulated assets
• professionals who want to grow without losing half to taxes

This group is suffocated by a system that punishes those who evolve.

The Vélez case only highlights a long-standing reality:

those who depend solely on Brazil to preserve wealth are losing money every single day.

The Survival Path: Tax Residency and International Structuring

The same strategy used by billionaires is now accessible to any entrepreneur with vision:

➡ Shift tax residency to countries like Uruguay, Panama, Georgia, Paraguay, UAE or Estonia

➡ Open companies abroad to pay 0% or reduced tax rates

➡ Protect assets through legal international structuring

➡ Diversify income and reduce exposure to Brazilian risk

The benefits are real:

• 0% capital gains tax in several countries
• freedom to invest globally
• real asset protection
• less bureaucracy
• higher net profits
• more legal security
• dramatically lower costs

The Urgency Is Now

Brazil’s Tax Reform is only beginning to show its effects.

Experts expect continuous tax increases, new forms of taxation and a stricter inspection environment.

The contrast is brutal:

Those who stay trapped in the Brazilian system pay more, lose margins and face growing risks.

Those who internationalize residency and assets reduce taxes, increase safety and multiply opportunities.

Every month inside Brazil’s traditional tax system is expensive.

Every month outside it increases your protection and real profit.

Conclusion

The David Vélez case isn’t about billionaires.

It’s about strategy.

It’s about understanding that Brazil’s system punishes entrepreneurs, while other countries offer incentives, protection and lower taxes.

The only real way to secure your future is to act before the next tax changes take effect.

Protect your wealth.

Secure your fiscal freedom.

Escape the risks that are destroying thousands of businesses in Brazil.