PS Accuses PSD of Using IRS Pension Withholding to Change Social Security Director

On Tuesday, the PS accused the SDP of using the case of the IRS’s successful withholding of pensions as a pretext to replace the director of the Social Security Institute.

“The government here is trying to find another excuse to replace another leader, in this case the Social Security Institute,” said Thiago Barbosa Ribeiro, vice-president of the PS parliamentary group, speaking to reporters at the Socialist Congress. headquarters in Porto.

The Socialist MP expressed the hope that this will not happen, but warned that the PS will be vigilant and will also consider this issue in the Assembly of the Republic.

In a statement in which he began accusing the government of dismissing Ana Jorge, provider of the Santa Casa da Misericordia in Lisbon, in order to install in this position “people more politically oriented and domesticated” by the PSD, Thiago Barbosa Ribeiro further stated that that the issue of pensions is “even more caricatured,” accusing the Social Democrats of “politically false statements based on completely absurd arguments on this issue.”

The stance comes after the government on Monday expressed “surprise” at the payment of income tax on pensions for April and May, saying it was the result of the “purely political orientation” of the previous socialist executive.

In turn, the Social Security Institute clarified that adjustments were made to the IRS withholdings for April and May pensions to adjust the withholdings made in January based on the “preliminary” table for 328 thousand pensioners.

According to the socialist, nothing special was done compared to what was done every year, explaining that January pensions were temporarily withheld because the Tax Office (AT) only presented the final tables at the end of December, when January pensions were already was paid.

“There is no electoralism here, because out of about 350 thousand pensioners, more than 180 thousand had a withholding above what they should have been entitled to, and about 140 thousand had a withholding below what they should have been entitled to, and, therefore, there is a set pensioners, who now with the settlement will receive more than otherwise,” he explained.

This comes after the Jornal de Negócios reported the case of pensioners who faced a reduction in the net value of a pension paid in May, without a receipt explaining this fact – since the gross value of the pension was also retained. as the tax withholding rate rather than the rebate amount.

On Tuesday, PCP questioned the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security about the correctness of the IRS withholding of May pensions, which led to a decrease in their value in net terms, believing that this is an unacceptable situation.