“Distribution” doubts the environmental effectiveness of the tax on lightweight plastic bags

The director general of the Portuguese Association of Distribution Companies (APED) said this Wednesday that he has doubts about the environmental effectiveness of a tax on lightweight plastic bags and that it will create operational difficulties for food retailers.

“From an operational point of view it will create difficulties and a certain amount of confusion for people, and from an environmental point of view we have doubts about its effectiveness,” Gonçalo Lobo Xavier told Lusa about the budget proposal. for the state, introduced Tuesday, which would impose a fee on very lightweight plastic bags at four cents each.

The official stressed that these bags, commonly used to transport fruits and vegetables, play an important role in combating food waste and ensuring food safety as there are no economically viable alternative solutions in the market, meaning the levy will create restrictions for retailers and consumers to whom the costs will be transferred.

“We have not yet had time to analyze how all this will happen, but obviously this is an issue that concerns us and from an operational point of view it will be something complex, but we will definitely take responsibility and once again “Find a solution ” added the APED CEO, noting that the decision “will largely depend on retailers understanding what they can do.”

Regarding the abolition of zero VAT on products that make up the basket of essential goods, Gonçalo Lobo Xavier said that “naturally” this will be reflected in an increase in the price of the basket in the same proportion as the VAT that will be replaced, about 6%.

“We need a few more weeks to replace everything, we will agree with the government on the exact date to change the entire operation of stores and all systems,” he emphasized, pointing to mid-January.

Regarding the abolition of the excess profits tax, which was applied under a community resolution covering 2022 and 2023 and not extending into the following year, Lobo Xavier believes that this demonstrates that this type of profit does not exist in the distribution sector. , in particular in food retail.

“It was a populist measure that the government understood [aplicar] and which is now amending will be withdrawn, this seems positive to us,” he said, emphasizing that this year the collection under this measure will be just over 1.4 million euros, and not 80 million, as the government had assumed.

On Tuesday, the government presented to the Assembly of the Republic a draft state budget for next year, which will be discussed and voted on as a whole on October 30 and 31, with a final global vote scheduled for November 29.