Budget will be voted on November 30
The next voting stage of Portugal’s proposed 2025 State Budget, which sees each proposal being voted on individually in parliament, started today with a record number of amendments (2,161) pitched and a few proposals which are almost certain to be approved as they are.
Over the coming week, debates will take place in the mornings, with voting sessions running into the evenings.
Among the measures likely to pass are significant policies forged through compromise between the ruling PSD and the opposition Socialist Party (PS).
Chief among them is the reduction of the corporate income tax rate (IRC), which will drop from 21% to 20% – a concession from both sides, as PSD wanted a larger reduction while PS didn’t want a reduction at all.
The agreement has also paved the way for the expansion of the IRS Jovem scheme, which will involve changes to the personal income tax applicable to young taxpayers, expanding its scope to cover all taxable persons up to the age of 35, as long as they are not considered dependents. The exemption will be granted for the first 10 years on which the taxpayer receives income from categories A (income from dependent work) and B (business and professional income), regardless of the taxpayer’s level of education.
A 1.25% pension increase proposed by PS is also due to be approved – in this case, with the support of fellow left-wing parties and against PSD’s wishes.
In total, 4,920 pages of budget proposals will be scrutinised.
Despite the debates still to be had during this voting phase, PS is expected to abstain from the budget’s final vote, ensuring the budget’s approval without requiring support from the far-right Chega party, which, along with the rest of the opposition, plans to vote against it.
