The parliamentary leader of the PS did not exclude the deepening of the measures to combat abusive benefits in the fiscal sphere, but considered it essential that this solution be agreed upon in the European Union so as not to leave Portugal at a “disadvantage”.
This position on the possible taxation of extraordinary profits of companies in a situation of high inflation was conveyed by Eurico Brilhante Dias, after having visited two companies in the district of Leiria, within the framework of the PS Parliamentary Conference.
We do not eliminate any solution”, said the president of the Parliamentary Group of the PS, after having argued that the Government has already taken measures in energy matters to try to eliminate abusive benefits.
In the statements he made to journalists, Eurico Brilhante Dias pointed out that the Government has said that “it will look at the request of other countries to analyze its effectiveness” and pointed out that Italy, one of the first to advance, “has already carried out a review of its mechanism to combat abusive benefits”.
“We must remain vigilant, always seeking the most concerted solution possible within the framework of the European Union so as not to create a disadvantage for Portugal that others do not want to take,” he warned.
Regarding political principles, the leader of the socialist caucus emphasized that “there is no social justice without fiscal justice.”
But we cannot penalize only the Portuguese. We have to do it in a balanced way, not eliminating any solution from the outset, neither in the fiscal dimension nor in the dimension of direct intervention in the markets”, he underlined.
In front of journalists, the leader of the socialist caucus defended that there is agreement around the idea that “there is no social justice without fiscal justice”, then stressed that “there may be different approaches” on the way to achieve that goal.
“There is an approach that some —few— countries have taken with a fiscal dimension, not a fee, which normally has an associated service, but rather an additional tax. And there are those who argue that there are other instruments to eliminate abusive profits, the profits generated by this circumstance. [de alta da inflação] and that they are abnormal when the great majority of the Portuguese suffer from inflation”, he said.
In the case of energy, according to the former Secretary of State, the Government has already acted in two dimensions in gas and electricity.
In electricity, it acted as a mechanism for disaffecting the price of gas and electricity. When he made that disaffection, he allowed a reduction of between 15 and 17% in the price of electricity, which crushed and consumed a substantial part of the profits that would not be reasonable on the part of those who sell electricity, ”he said.
In the case of gas, from the perspective of the party leader of the PS, the transition from the free market to the regular market was facilitated.
“The Government, by eliminating the restriction on the passage of consumers from the free market to the regulated one, crushed and ended the abusive profits in the gas sector,” he said.
In other words, according to Eurico Brilhante Dias, “a non-tax approach was followed, but nevertheless strong in the elimination of abusive profits.”
Source: Observadora
