Lisbon, Oct. 9, 2025 (Lusa) - The total consolidated expenditure in the area of Culture, forecast in the 2026 State Budget, will be €638.1 million, an increase of 21.9% compared to the 2025 estimate.
"In the 2026 budget, the Culture Budget Programme shows total consolidated expenditure of €638.1 million, up 21.9% on the 2025 estimate, and actual consolidated expenditure of €625.8 million," according to the budget proposal submitted to parliament on Thursday.
In the report with the guidelines for the State Budget for 2026, the government said it wanted to "continue to resolutely tackle the chronic underfunding that has persistently limited the capacity for cultural action".
The proposed State Budget for 2026 also forecasts total consolidated revenue of €638.1 million, equal to the expenditure forecast.
Of the total revenue forecast, "the tax revenue component (€203.4 million) stands out, mainly due to the funds allocated to the Directorate-General for the Arts (DGArtes), to ensure support programmes for the arts, and to the state"s financial compensation for public business entities, namely the national theatres and the Museums and Monuments of Portugal, as well as the allocation to the public Cultural Heritage Institute.
Revenue from European funds (€220.4 million) "is mainly the result of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR)", contracted with the Cultural Heritage Safeguard Fund (FSPC), in the Cultural Heritage component, and with the Cultural Strategy, Planning and Evaluation Office (GEPAC), within the scope of Cultural Networks and Digital Transition.
Own revenues of €122 million come from "sales of goods and services, fees, fines and other penalties, indirect taxes", as well as box office receipts from museums, palaces and national monuments, "fees and investment obligations to which operators are subject under the Cinema Law" and the "distribution of the net results of the social games operated by the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, allocated to the Cultural Promotion Fund [FFC]".
In the total consolidated actual expenditure of 625.8 million euros (which does not include financial assets), current expenditure has the greatest weight (€418 million, 65.6% of the total), mainly for "financial support for national artistic production and the arts, including support for the programming of the theatre and cinema network and regional orchestras, under the responsibility of the DGArtes; cinema, audiovisual and multimedia", through the Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual; and "cultural foundations and private entities in the area of culture", through the FFC.
Capital expenditure (207 million, 19.1% of total expenditure) is mainly reflected in transfers from the PRR to municipalities and to the Lisbon Tourism Association for work on museums, monuments and palaces, through the FSPC, and for the digital transition, through GEPAC.
SS/ADB // ADB.
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