SDP accuses PS of “absolute irresponsibility” and points to the alliance of socialists and Chegi

The parliamentary leader of the SDP accused the PS of “absolute irresponsibility” in the debate on the IRS this Wednesday and pointed to the Chegi alliance with the Socialists, asking to take responsibility in the debate on the specialty.

This Wednesday, Parliament generally approved the PS, BE and PCP IRS proposals, as well as requests to downgrade the Government, Chega and IL proposal to specialty without a vote.

At the end of the vote, PSD parliamentary leader Hugo Soares accused the PS of showing “commitment to an inflexible position” and refused to make his bench available so that both proposals could be rejected without any decision. to vote, even eventually joining “negative coalitions” and allowing the left’s proposals to become viable.

“On the part of the PS there was a position of absolute irresponsibility, an alliance between the PS and Chega (…) What happened was that the Chega party made the PS proposal viable, a party that was against tax cuts,” he accused.

Hugo Soares left a call to take charge of the debates that will follow in the specialty.

“The government is the one who governs, and the parliament serves to improve the government’s proposals. I call for responsibility, full openness to dialogue and sincerely hope that in 15 days the country can have a unified text on tax cuts,” he ruled.

Asked whether a debate on the specialty could lead to a diploma distorting the executive’s original proposal, the MP and SDP secretary general replied that “there is no government that, if it could, would not want to reduce taxes further.”

“We will look in detail, we are ready to talk, but, as is clear, the PSD here cannot and should not look for solutions that are incompatible with the Portuguese reality,” he warned.

The SDP parliamentary leader reiterated that the tax cut debate “only arose because the government, in power for 15 days, introduced a bill aimed at cutting taxes.”

“A government that does not have an absolute majority and that wanted to demonstrate greater openness to dialogue, seeking with all parliamentary groups to reach a real proposal and consensus on this specialty,” he defended.

Of the various proposals involving changes to the IRS presented by the various opposition parties that were discussed and voted on as a whole today, only those signed by Livre and PAN were rejected.

The government’s proposal, which now comes down to specialty, would see an additional 0.25 to 3 percentage point reduction in the rates applicable to income groups 1 to 8, with the largest reduction (3 percentage points) affecting around income bracket 6 . In the 9th grid the bet remains unchanged.

The cut means an additional €348 million in tax breaks this year compared to what has been in place since January, which will be added to by a €115 million cut in 2025 through IRS refunds, according to government reports.

After a debate in which the opposition once again heard accusations of the government’s proposed cuts to the IRS, MPs approved the PS project, which advocates a more pronounced reduction in IRS rates for the lowest income groups (from 1,000 to 2,500 euros gross per month). ).

Blockers are proposing to increase specific deductions (for work and pensions) and the property expenses deduction to €360, and scrap the rule that prevents people with a mortgage after 2011 from taking advantage of the deduction.

The Communist Initiative insists on the mandatory inclusion of income subject to special and liberal rates, such as rent, capital gains or interest, for those at the top of the ladder, and also proposes an increase in the specific deduction and its updating depending on IFRS. , reducing the rates that apply to the first two groups and increasing the rates that apply to the highest income groups. A new one is also created with an income above 250 thousand euros per year with a rate of 56%.

The Chegi project, in turn, proposes a more significant reduction in tax rates to level 8, leaving unchanged only level 9, which corresponds to the highest income level.

The Liberal initiative proposes to increase the specific deduction (the “rebate” that is automatically attributed to income from work and pensions), reduce tax rates (taking into account only two levels) and set the minimum living wage at a level equivalent to 14 national minimum wages at present value (820 euros).