Lisbon, June 17, 2025 (Lusa) - Portugal's government will present the proposal for an across-the-board reduction in corporate income tax to parliament on the sidelines of the 2026 state budget, the finance minister said on Tuesday.
During the debate on the government's programme in parliament, the finance minister said, in response to Chega, that the government will have "the opportunity to bring to this parliament" the proposal to reduce the corporate income tax rate, "outside of the State Budget", as was done in the 2025 Budget.
In the government's programme, it confirmed its intention to gradually reduce IRC rates to 17% by the end of the legislature.
In response to the CDS-PP parliamentary leader, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento reiterated that the government will only decide whether to give pensioners an extraordinary supplement again when the budget execution has more concrete figures and the government can better forecast the year.
In a request for clarification, Livre spokesman Rui Tavares regretted the focus of the political discussion on the issue of immigration, emphasising that the country's budget surplus is largely due to the contributions of immigrants in Portugal, and also questioned the finance minister on why the reduction in VAT is not being discussed.
Miranda Sarmento replied that the government's priority is to reduce personal income tax, arguing that the reduction in VAT "is not reflected, at least in its entirety, in the fall in prices" since "there is a part that is captured by those who produce and sell these goods and services".
Socialist Miguel Costa Matos asked for clarification on "a mysterious synthetic notion of IRS to correct under-taxation" that is included in the government programme, questioning whether this proposal is aimed at taxing income such as grants or social support. He also asked the government if it was "going to have a tax policy for everyone" or "continue to have a tax policy for only a few".
Miranda Sarmento responded to the PS MP by accusing previous socialist governments of implementing proposals such as IRS Jovem and social passes for some, and that with the AD government, these benefits have become available to all.
The finance minister also said that Costa Matos's speech made him feel "nostalgic for the time" when the PS and Chega made agreements to "approve measures that went against what the government decided".
TYRS/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
