Government wants to propose new tax on banks in the first half of 2026
Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento stresses that "some caution" is needed in proposing a new tax on banks so that it is not declared unconstitutional like the solidarity additional tax.
Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento will prepare, in the first half of 2026, ‘a new tax’ on banks, after the additional solidarity tax was declared unconstitutional.
“I said that we would reflect on the taxation of this sector and seek to find other solutions that would not later be considered unconstitutional. Because this tax was created in 2020, perhaps a little hastily, it yielded €40 million every year and now obliges the State to return €200 million. Some caution is needed”, the minister explained in an interview with Antena 1 and Jornal de Negócios.
The finance minister assured that the Executive will do everything to maintain the balance of public accounts and identified possible proposals to amend the State Budget for 2026 as the “main risk”. Joaquim Miranda Sarmento admitted to resorting to budget cuts, but “with parsimony”.
The government’s priority is to implement the PRR in its entirety, and Miranda Sarmento has therefore issued a warning to MPs: “Parliament must choose between implementing the PRR and keeping the accounts in order, or implementing the PRR and adding proposals that will lead to a deficit”. If the PS and Chega join forces to approve expenditure that represents more spending, then it is because “they want the budget that entered Parliament with a positive balance to leave with a negative balance”, he said.
