Brazil Pioneers Tax Filings Over the Internet Several countries, including the United States and Australia, allow people to file taxes electronically, but Brazil is the first country to enable large-scale tax filings over the Internet.
Brazil lets individuals and companies file directly.
Brazil's program has its origin in a system that was first rolled out in 1990. This program allowed a taxpayer who had filled out an income tax declaration in the previous year to use that as the starting point, and add new data, avoiding having to re-enter data. At the end of the process the program created a floppy disk with the taxpayer's unique information. Then the taxpayer delivered the floppy disk in person to the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service, which typically meant long lines at the counter. Still, this was a first important step in automating income tax preparation and filing.