Portuguese media is aflame this morning as yet another tax official resigns over the VIP taxpayers’ list furore.
What remains so ludicrous in this latest political ‘scandal’ is that everyone is still denying the existence of a list.
But the fact that it “doesn’t exist” has led now to two high-level resignations, and is more than likely to lead to more.
Bets this morning are on beleaguered secretary of state for fiscal affairs Paulo Núncio being next in line to fall on his sword – largely because he has consistently denied the existence of the list when, by all accounts, “mechanisms of alert” have been attached to a whole host of names in the public spotlight since at least 2008.
The fact that they were called “mechanisms of alert” and not “the VIP taxpayers’ list” may not in the end be enough to save Núncio from looming disgrace.
Certainly this is the opinion of the ‘man-in-the-street’s’ paper, Correio da Manhã, and online news service Negóciosonline – which carries a report this morning saying the latest casualty of the ongoing controversy – the ‘number two’ of tax boss António Brigas Afonso – was a favourite of Núncio and “if Núncio had had his way” would have been made the overall command chief of the tax office “eight months ago”.
As it is, José Maria Pires is instead following Brigas Afonso out the door, as revelations about the list continue to swirl both in printed editions and online.
To put the whole sorry story into perspective, the official line remains “there is no list”.
Suggestions that there could be one first arose in December when tax authority workers found themselves hauled over the coals for looking into the affairs of prime minister Pedro Passos Coelho – at the time under scrutiny for allegedly receiving money from services company Tecnoforma when he should have been ‘exclusively’ restricted to his salary as an MP.
Since then, Passos Coelho has been exonerated of blame – because any tax misdemeanours were deemed “too long ago” to worry about – but 27 workers face disciplinary proceedings for accessing his data.
It is this that has so enraged the workers’ union, led by outspoken Paulo Ralha, and why, ultimately, the issue is getting so much publicity.
This morning CM explains that Passos Coelho and his deputy Paulo Portas have been in late-night pow-wows over “what to do next” while daily papers carry endless details on people on the VIP list.
According again to CM, these include Cavaco Silva, both Passos Coelho and Portas, José Sócrates, his mother Adelaide Monteiro, football boss José Mourinho, former PSD leader Manuela Ferreira Leite, Espírito Santo bankers – particularly Ricardo Salgado and his cousin José Maria Ricciardi – disgraced politicians, PSD vice president Marco António and crack footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
As Paulo Ralha told Sol yesterday, his workers only realised a list must exist when they started receiving raps over the knuckles for “consultations” they made over certain taxpayers’ personal data.
He explained how “very often” workers did not even know who they were investigating.
“When one looks into external signs of wealth, for example” inspectors insert data from receipts and car licence plates to “see who they belong to, and if they are compatible with earnings declared by their owners”, he told Sol.
The website added that he ‘guaranteed’ “We don’t know who we will find”.
But, thanks to the list – or should we say “the mechanisms of alert”, his workers have now found themselves the targets for “disciplinary procedures” with 32 confirmed and another 105 in the pipeline.
As the agonising pantomime appears set to continue into the weekend, news providers are keeping close watch to see whose heads roll next.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
Photo: Secretary of state for fiscal affairs Paulo Núncio could be next in line to fall on his sword
