Medina says he continues to defend the IUC increase, but sees it being repealed PS

The Minister of Finance said this Friday that he continues to defend the increase in the single turnover tax (UMT), but understands “naturally” its abolition by socialist deputies, since the work of the legislative branch will be interrupted.

On the sidelines of an insurance conference in Lisbon, Fernando Medina answered a question from journalists about the proposed amendment to the 2024 state budget introduced by the PS parliamentary group, which would cancel the IUC increase.

Fernando Medina responded that the government’s position on the IUC is “very clear” – defending this increase for vehicles from 2007 and previous years with a brake that limited the increase to 25 euros per year – but this is in the current political moment, with early elections tagged , understands this change to be “natural”, since until the end of the legislature there is no longer a government with an absolute majority in power.

“I understand the reasons. When we presented this proposal, we presented a proposal for a government with an absolute majority that would remain in force until the end of the legislature. From the moment the elections take place, when there are different opinions about the continuity of this policy, I understand the position of the parliamentary group,” Medina said.

On Tuesday, the last day of the deadline for submitting proposed budget amendments, the PS introduced a bill to eliminate the increase in the CPI for vehicles from 2007 and previous years (introduced by the Government in the draft state budget for 2024), arguing that it is “a matter of social justice and protection of citizens who are more economically vulnerable.”

In their proposal, the socialists argue that “the passenger vehicle in many cases still remains the main means of transportation to work or to the nearest form of public transport, especially outside the country’s major cities and in middle- and low-income areas. where public transport is limited and unsuitable for daily mobility needs.”

“Where a car is an absolute necessity, there is the fact that many citizens do not have the financial means to replace it with a newer vehicle. Therefore, it is considered important for the sake of social justice and protection. citizens with greater economic vulnerability, correct the OE proposal in this sense,” the proposal says.

The leader of the Socialist Party, Eurico Brillante Díaz, announced at a press conference the proposals of the PS parliamentary group to amend the state budget for 2024, a document on which the final global vote is scheduled for the next 29th, which since Initially the majority of deputies who were on his bench, there was an intention to change the government’s original proposal for the IPC because it had caused a “perception of social injustice” among many citizens.

Regarding the news from Expresso that the reversal of TAP’s wage cuts may be in jeopardy because the termination of the temporary emergency agreement that allowed the workers to be cut has not yet received the green light from finance, Medina said. The fact is that “the documents were received by the Ministry of Finance just a few weeks ago” (sent by the company’s management) and therefore “are still being analyzed.”