The social democrats will try a new maneuver to save the reduction of the IRS with which they wanted to start the new government cycle. The PSD must present an alternative proposal in terms of specialty to try to coordinate positions with the rest of the parties, which will imply, at least in theory, getting closer to the proposals of the PS and Chega. It should be remembered that these two parties defend a reduction in the IRS, particularly in the lower income brackets, contrary to what the Government intended.
Until we see it, the PSD keeps the game closed on the final design of the new proposal, but it is assumed that the social democratic bench will in fact present a text to replace the IRS reduction proposal presented by the Government, and that it will not It came to be discussed in Parliament because the party led by Luís Montenegro decided to lower it to the specialty without a vote, after a day of difficult negotiations. On the other hand, the socialists managed to get their own proposal to reduce the IRS approved in general, thanks to the Chega alliance.
Now, it is precisely in order not to lose face and save the measure that the PSD is now seeking a final design that, at least, convinces the PS and/or Chega to approve the proposal. The guarantee given by the social democratic bench is that the party “is making every possible effort” to reach a possible solution. Furthermore, the Observer knows that the PSD has already made initial contact with Pedro Nuno Santos’ bench to see what support it would have. The first signs, however, were not very encouraging for the Government.
“The PS is available for a replacement text as long as it results from all the proposals that reached the commission,” a member of the socialist bench tells the Observer. The same means saying that there is no possibility of accepting an exclusive negotiation with the PSD and that if the objective is to find a text with contributions from all parties it is because there is no objective margin for an agreement – hardly the proposal of the left. Bloc, for example, will have some point of contact with the Democratic Alliance proposal.
“The Government wants to discuss its IRS proposal separately, but the PS will seek to discuss them all at the same time. They asked us if we were available for common texts and we responded that we are only available in committee to work on all the proposals that were approved,” says another socialist source. “We negotiate with everyone, not separately.”
Furthermore, the socialists (who in this very specific aspect are aligned with Chega) show no signs of wanting to back down from a principled demand: “We work within their budgetary margin, the idea is to get closer and the proposal focuses on who needs it’s more”. That is, lower the IRS to the lowest levels and not to level 8, as the Government proposes.
Regarding the calendar, the socialists maintain their intention for the IRS reduction to come into effect on July 1, so they want the process to be carried out without further delay. This Wednesday morning, in the Budget and Finance committee, the socialists will defend that the debate on the specialty be closed in mid-June, just after the European elections. This is so the tax cut can make it to the floor for a final vote in time for it to take effect in July. The socialists proposed, however, that UTAO continue to be heard in this process, after having asked that it comment on each of the proposals in committee within a period of 15 days.
If the resistance of the PS is confirmed, this would mean that the Government would depend on André Ventura to approve the reduction of the IRS or, absurdly, that it would not be a PS-Chega alliance to approve an alternative proposal to that of the PS. the Executive. In the week in which the issue was hot, Ventura made it clear that he would do it if the PSD did not change its mind. “It is strange and caricatured that the proposal of Chega and the PS has more objectives in common than the proposal of the AD Government,” Ventura threatened. A day later, he made good on his threat and abstained from voting on the socialist proposal, allowing it to be approved in general.
Source: Observadora
