With party political rivalries bristling ahead of municipal elections on Sunday, the AD coalition has decided to submit its proposed State Budget for 2026 to parliament at midday, ahead of schedule.
The move has elicited criticisms that the government is attempting to deflect attention from the Spinumviva saga, suddenly ‘returned with a vengeance’, particularly in certain media pages (see top story to come).
Reporting on events, Lusa suggests that this year, at least, there are “no signs of a political crisis caused by the (State Budget) being rejected”.
Trigger policies in the fields of health, labour, pensions and social protection have been carefully excluded – a situation already ‘welcomed’ by PS leader José Luís Carneiro.
“Among parties with parliamentary representation, only the Communist Party (PCP) has already made it known that it will vote against the 2026 budget bill”, says Lusa – and this is in line with PCP policy during centre-right governments.
In terms of content, the budget proposal is expected to include a 0.3 percentage point reduction in the IRS income tax rates applied to the 2nd to 5th brackets. And in January, the IRS brackets are expected to be updated by 3.51%, above the inflation forecast for next year (around 2%), Lusa continues.
“During the current local election campaign, the prime minister announced that the Solidarity Supplement for the Elderly will increase by €40 next year, rising to €670.
“In terms of the macroeconomic scenario, the government is expected to set a target of 2.2% GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth in 2026 and a renewal of a budget surplus of around 0.1%.
“In meetings with the parties represented in parliament, the minister of finance stressed that he will continue on the path of reducing public debt as a percentage of GDP, which could reach 90% by the end of next year”.
In terms of spending, the budget has measures with an impact of €4.449 billion, adds SIC.
The first reading debate and vote on the budget proposal will take place on October 27 and 28.
The committee stage detailed examination of the budget in plenary will begin on November 20, and the final reading debate and vote is scheduled for November 27.
Source material: LUSA
