The secretary-general of the PS today accused the government of deceiving the Portuguese with the “hoax and fraud” represented by the tax relief that turns out to be around 200 million euros, asking the prime minister for explanations.
Speaking to the Lusa news agency, Pedro Nuno Santos criticized the fact that the Finance Minister had clarified that the 1.5 billion euros in personal income tax cuts that had been announced by the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, actually represented around 200 million euros, since they will not be added to the more than 1.3 billion euros in tax relief included in the State Budget for 2024 and already in force.
“We are facing a hoax, a fraud, a government deceiving the Portuguese. We’ve been warning for months that the measures, that AD’s candidacy was not credible and this is the first proof, the first moment when that is clear,” accused the PS leader.
According to Pedro Nuno Santos, “the fiscal shock promised by the PSD didn’t even last a day” since “of the 1.5 billion euros in tax savings announced by Luís Montenegro, 1.3 billion are the responsibility of the Socialist Party government”.
“It’s serious, it’s a disgrace and it’s unacceptable that this happened at the time of the presentation of the government program and we expect more explanations now from the prime minister,” he said.
For the PS leader, the government’s start in office “couldn’t be worse” and so “an explanation from the Prime Minister on the credibility” of his governance is required.
“And while we’re at it, I’d like to say that in government you don’t go to São Bento to campaign, you have to govern. Unfortunately, that’s not what we’re seeing and that’s why I want to repudiate and deeply regret what we’re witnessing at the very beginning of this government’s work,” he accused.
Finance Minister Miranda Sarmento argued today that the IRS reduction promised by the government is “more ambitious” than the measure that has been in force since the beginning of 2024, but clarified that it will be around 200 million euros.
In an interview with RTP, Miranda Sarmento clarified that the 1.5 billion euros in personal income tax relief mentioned by the Prime Minister this Thursday, at the start of the debate on the government’s program, will not be added to the 1.3 billion euros in personal income tax relief included in the State Budget for 2024 and already in force.
