There were threats of lead, but the Government’s proposal for IRS relief ended up being sent to the committee without being subject to a vote, at the request of the PSD and for a period of 60 days. The same happened with the opposition’s tax proposals, which paves the way for negotiations until a final version can be passed in Parliament.
The new Government’s first major challenge in Parliament ended with the IRS relief proposal being sent to committee without being voted on for a period of two weeks. The PSD proposed it and everyone voted in favor, except Bloco and Livre, who abstained.
The same ended up happening with Chega’s proposal, which also asked for the commission to be dismissed without a vote, and with the Liberal Initiative’s proposal.
On the other hand, the proposals from the PS, Bloco and PCP, also for reductions in the IRS, were generally approved. In the case of the PS, it was approved with the favorable vote of PS, BE, PCP, PAN and Livre, Chega and IL abstaining and the PSD and CDS-PP voting against. This opens a period for “dialogue”, as the Government requested, to be able to reach a final version that can be approved in the specialty, but this first vote, in general, anticipates difficult and complicated negotiations for the PSD.
During the debate, André Ventura had warned that, if the PSD did not change its proposal, it would vote against it. “If your proposal continues like this, we cannot follow it”, he stated. “Ideologies aside, Chega is always close to the pockets of the Portuguese and those who earn less.” His party, he stated, proposed “that in the 3rd and 4th levels there should be an additional relief of 0.5 pp and that the minimum subsistence level should be increased from 820 to 900 euros”. “You don’t want to, so we tell you to your face: between you and the Portuguese, we choose the Portuguese”, he declared.
In practice, he ended up partially implementing the threat, abstaining from voting on the socialist proposal.
Faced with the imminence of a negative coalition, the PSD later said that it had contacted all the parliamentary groups, in the sense of “dialogue”, with the leader of the parliamentary bench, but there were boos and comments coming from the various benches. The only one who accepted, he declared, “was the Liberal Initiative”.
Pedro Duarte, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, then intervened to reinforce what Hugo Soares had said. “The Government presented a proposal that in our view is the most balanced” between the relief of the tax burden and the “sense of budgetary responsibility, so as not to lose balance in public accounts”. Even so, and in the absence of an absolute majority, “from the outset, this Government expressed complete openness to deepen negotiations and discuss different proposals.” “This will always be our stance” and “I appeal so that we can try to reach a consensus and lower the IRS for all Portuguese people”.
“Let’s give this sign of democratic maturity, let’s not waste what is excellent news for Portugal, which is having a Parliament discussing lower taxes”, he also said.
