The interest in discussion of tools for value capture grows in municipal administrations, which identify the possibility to find alternative to finance urban development, especially in the context of reducing of traditional funding sources. Included in the City Statute (Federal Law n. 10.257/01) as an instrument of urban policy, the Betterment Levy consists of a tax that allows the Government to recover the financial expression of the increase of land values resulted from public interventions. The origin of this tax goes back to the Philippines Ordinances, which authorized the fintas, to raise funds to rebuild bridges and sidewalks. Ordinations Philippines prevailed in Portugal from 1603 to 1867, and formed the basis of legislation in Brazil, only being replaced in 1916 by the Civil and Penal Codes of the Republic. The Betterment Levy was institutionalized in Brazil by the Constitution of 1934, which required its collection in public interventions. Laws after Constitution 1934, modified the initial concept, and created a tribute sui generis, specifically Brazilian. From the discussion of the institutionalization of Betterment Levy in Brazil, this paper aims to recognize the concepts originated from Portuguese laws, as well as other international interference, outlining the specificities of this tax in the country.
African city; Portuguese-African architecture; Colonial planning office; Estado Novo