Medina guarantees income growth of 2% for most families

This Thursday, the Minister of Finance guaranteed that the income of most Portuguese families will increase by 2%, despite criticism from the coordinator of Bloco de Esquerda that the government is easing rents.

At a parliamentary hearing in the Committee on Budget and Finance (COF) on the proposed national budget for 2024 (OE2024), the Minister of Finance Fernando Medina stated that “what is determined for a large part of Portuguese families is that the increase in relation to rent will increase on 2%”.

“This is precisely what enshrines the decisions that the government made at the Council of Ministers,” he emphasized.

This Thursday, the Council of Ministers approved the automatic renewal of income support of 4.94% to mitigate the rise caused by inflation and increase the IRS deductible amount from 502 to 550 euros.

With this decision, the government eliminates the need to cap rent renewals in 2024 without repeating what was done in 2023 when a 2% cap was imposed.

The coordinator of the Bloc de Esquerda and deputy Mariana Mortagua criticized the statement made this Thursday, which she called a “failure.”

“In 2024, growth will be 7%. This is the biggest increase in 30 years during the biggest housing crisis,” he said.

Fernando Medina responded that Mariana Mortagua was defending “a half-truth, not to say a third of the truth”, arguing that “a very important part of Portuguese families will not suffer from such growth” and will have “support from the state that will cover the difference.”

The increase in the rate of 4.94%, approved this Thursday by the Council of Ministers, is aimed at mitigating the consequences of the renewal of rents according to the formula provided for in the law and which, according to the inflation value that serves as a guide, if it leads to Rent increase of 6.94% in 2024.