IRS Jovem, PGR hearing and Santa Casa investigation after return to parliamentary work

The Government’s diplomas on the IRS Jovem and IRC, the commission of inquiry on the management of Santa Casa da Misericórdia and the hearings of the Attorney General of the Republic will mark the resumption of parliamentary work in September.

MPs will have about a month to plan initiatives or hold hearings before Parliament dedicates itself exclusively to the 2025 state budget, and the first hearings have already been scheduled: the Attorney General of the Republic, Lucilia Gago, will be heard on September 11 in the first session of the Constitutional Affairs Commission.

At this hearing, Lucilia Gago will present a report on the activities of the Public Prosecutor’s Office for 2023 and answer questions from MPs. The hearing was scheduled after the scandalous interview Lucilia Gago gave to the RTP agency in early July.

The 11th will also see the parliamentary leaders’ conference and the standing committee, a parliamentary body with limited powers that works during the holiday break.

The resumption of plenary sessions is scheduled for September 18, and on the same day the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the management of Santa Casa da Misericórdia, proposed by Chega, Illinois and Belgium, will take office.

Parliament will now work with two commissions of inquiry as it continues its work on the case of twins treated with Zolgensma in Portugal.

By this Friday, the 6th, the parties must indicate in writing the questions they want to ask former Prime Minister António Costa in this commission of inquiry.

The PSD/SDS-PP government and the parties are resuming talks on the 2025 state budget this month, after a first round of meetings in July, but the budget proposal will not be submitted to parliament until October. No dates have been set for new meetings.

In late August, Chega excluded itself from the negotiations, and PS set its conditions, while PKP and BE had already announced that they would vote against. IL had already left “everything open” in July.

“If the proposals for the legislative authorization of the IRC and IRS, which were submitted to the Assembly of the Republic, are approved by the Liberal Initiative and Chega, then it is precisely with these parties that the state budget must be approved,” the general secretary of the Socialists warned on Sunday.

In São Bento, there are two government bills that will not be part of the 2025 state budget and have already been criticized by the opposition: this is the case of changes to the IRS Jovem, which includes a maximum rate of 15% for all labor income of people under 35, and a reduction in the IRC from the current 21% to 15% by 2027.

As well as the debate on these two diplomas, this month also sees debate on legislative authorisations to change the regime to avoid double taxation of income from subsidiaries and on the extension of VAT in cash.

Regarding the anti-corruption package presented by the executive, the SDP and SDS-PP proposed the creation of a possible committee in parliament to continue “interaction and dialogue” on this issue, while the executive did not present any initiative to the Assembly, so far.

Among the “dossiers” remaining for the return of parliamentary work, there is also the creation of a national compensation circle for the elections to the Assembly of the Republic with the projects IL, BE, Livre and PAN, which have reached specialization without a vote.

The same thing happened with the initiatives proposed by the blockers BE, PCP, Livre and PAN, which aim to restore the right to 25 days of annual leave or create a new leave for parents with children under eight. remained a member of the parliamentary committee on labor, social security and inclusion.

The SDP’s bill approving the statute of the National Council for Medical Assistance in Childbirth is also awaiting the return of MPs to parliament.

ARL/SF//SF

Lusa/The End