Main budget amendments by parliamentary parties

  • Lusa
  • 23 May 2022

According to the parliamentary web page, 1,500 proposals for amendments were delivered, but 64 proposals have been withdrawn in the meantime.

Parliament begins the second hearing of the 2022 draft State Budget on Monday, and various parties have submitted about 1,500 proposals for amendment.

According to the parliamentary web page, 1,500 proposals for amendments were delivered, but 64 proposals have been withdrawn in the meantime.

The Socialist party that supports the government (PS) delivered 68 proposals, while the biggest opposition party, the PSD, presented 178 proposals for amendments.

The Communist Party (PCP) presented the highest number of amendments, submitting 353 proposals, followed by Chega, with 309 proposals.

The People, Animals and Nature Party (PAN) submitted 244 proposals and the Left Bloc 137 proposals, while Iniciativa Liberal submitted 127 proposals and Livre 84 proposals.

The draft budget for 2022 was approved in the first hearing on 29 April, with only the votes favouring the PS and abstentions by the sole members of the PAN and Livre.

The diploma was approved by the 120 PS members, which has an absolute majority in the 230 seats in parliament, and had the abstentions of the only deputies of the PAN, Inês Sousa Real, and Livre, Rui Tavares.

The discussion of the document will continue throughout the week, with debates in the morning and votes in the afternoon, as usual, with the final overall vote scheduled for 27 May.

Here are some key points on the proposed amendments tabled by the parties with parliamentary seats:

PS

The PS has submitted proposed amendments to the budget to support exporting companies, especially those with markets outside the OECD, and combat aggressive tax planning practices affecting investment funds or companies.

Also in the tax area, the Socialist bench of the House of Representatives made a “slight downward adjustment” to the Vehicle Tax (ISV) table and applied a road tax exemption on vehicles registered in Ukraine and belonging to refugees, as well as the extension until 2023 of the issue of licences in the Madeira Free Trade Zone.

PSD

The package of proposals delivered by the PSD includes a measure to update public service salaries by 4%, corresponding to the inflation rate forecast for this year, as well as the creation of a culture voucher for young people, worth €120, as well as the exemption of IMT up to €150,000 in the acquisition of the first home.

The Social Democrats also intend to make it compulsory to “launch the tenders and procedures necessary for constructing some infrastructures”.

PCP

The main proposals for amendment to the 2022 budget presented by the PCP are the extraordinary increase of all pensions by 5.3%, in which the amount to be attributed can never be less than €20. The creation of a public network of crèches, the increase of the minimum personal income tax by €400, the extension of maternity and paternity leave to seven months, with 100% pay during this period, and free public transport for young people up to 18 years old and students, and for people over 65 years old.

CHEGA

Among the main proposals for amendment to the budget is an extraordinary update of €50 for most pensions and VAT exemption for essential food goods for three months, a direct discount at the pump of 20 cents per litre on fuels, a decrease in the corporate income tax rate to 17.5%, “as a way of attracting investment”, as well as the increase in the risk supplement to the “minimum value of €300” for security forces.

PAN

Last week, the spokesperson, Inês Sousa Real, announced at the end of a meeting with the minister of parliamentary affairs and the minister of finance that the government had agreed to follow two of her proposals: the creation of an extraordinary support line for animal protection associations that would allow them to request the reimbursement of expenses with food and medical-veterinarian care, and also an extension of support to the acquisition of bicycles.

LEFT BLOC

The Left Block presented a package of measures that includes a tax on extraordinary profits, the reduction of VAT on electricity and natural gas to 6%, as well as a minimum increase of 4% for public service workers, also proposing to update the IRS scales to this same rate, as well as that gains from cryptocurrencies be taxed in IRS like any other capital gain and wants to prevent the change of registration of houses for local accommodation, when allocated ‘a priori’ to housing, in regions of high population density.

INICIATIVA LIBERAL

The Liberal Initiative delivered 127 proposals, including reducing the corporate tax rate to 15% and ending the state surcharge and proposing a budget amendment to lower the personal income tax to 14.5% for those earning less than half the basic salary of a member of parliament and phasing out all imports of Russian gas.

LIVRE

The Freedom Party has tabled 84 amendments, including an extraordinary update of pensions in line with inflation, a programme to test the four-day working week, a culture voucher for young people, as well as a reduction in the minimum VAT rate for the consumption of “electricity and natural or bottled gas, except for fixed rates”.