PSD Request Delays Vote on Income Deduction Increase Proposed by PS

Deputies of the Budget and Finance Committee postponed this Wednesday’s discussion and vote on the PS’s proposal to extend deductions for housing and examine electricity consumption with a reduced VAT rate.

In both situations, the initiative for the postponement came from the PSD, the party that put forward a potential request to stop the discussion and vote on the PS project, which would gradually increase to 800 euros the IRS deduction from residential rent.

Currently, tenants can deduct 15% of their home rent from their tax office (but not more than €600). The €200 increase proposed by the PS forecasts that 50% of the increase will occur in 2025, 25% in 2026 and 25% the following year.

This potential delay prompted the president of the Commission on Budget, Finance and Public Administration (Cofap), socialist Filipe Neto Brandao, to say he was awaiting a response on whether the rules allow for three potential delays of the initiative or just one – a question that arose in the vote on the text of the replacement AD on the Government’s proposal to reduce IRS rates.

It should be remembered that the rent increase was voted on as a whole on May 8 and was approved by the votes of all opposition parties, with only the SDP and SDS-PP voting against.

In the case of the ES project to expand electricity consumption, taking into account the reduced VAT rate, it was planned to discuss and vote on the diligence proposals presented as part of the assessment, in particular those submitted by the PSC, which did not materialize due to a lack of due diligence.

This result prompted PS MP Carlos Pereira to recall that the person who suggested the need for action was the PSD, considering it “more like a maneuver to delay the discussion of this issue.”

In this context, the deputies agreed that the parties can make proposals for changes to this initiative of the PS on the electricity sector until the 14th, and voting in the committee is scheduled for the 19th.

Cofap also postponed discussion and voting on the Livre proposal, which would expand the regime for providing a subsidized housing loan to family members living with a person with a disability, which was also generally approved on 8 May.

The law only applies to people with disabilities and over 18 years of age who have access to a subsidized housing loan. Thus, the Livre measure aims to allow, for example, the parents of a disabled minor who needs to carry out adaptation work at home or buy a house more suitable for the needs of the minor, to take advantage of this benefit.