He did not participate in the debate, but he did participate in the voting. Pedro Nuno Santos emerged from the voting this Wednesday with a new victory and with Chega joining the vote in favor of most of the PS bill to increase the IRS income deduction to 800 euros progressively until 2028, increasing and to 2025.

One more proposal, of the five that the PS considered a priority, must be approved in Parliament with the support of Chega. And one more with a budgetary impact, starting in 2025, the date on which the diploma is intended to come into force. This was also what was foreseen in the proposal approved by the PS for the elimination of tolls.

PD (with Chega’s vote) ends tolls in the ex-SCUT. The Government warns that “someone will have to pay”

This is another negative coalition in Parliament, but this time with all parties, except the PSD and the CDS, voting in favour. PSD and CDS were the only ones who voted against, in a divergent vote from the other seats.

This diploma will now be discussed in the specialty. In the State Budget for 2024, which is in force, the limit for deducting income increased to 600 euros, following a proposal from the PAN and approved by the PS. This is the amount that tenants will deduct in the declaration that is not submitted until 2025. In 2023, the amount was 502 euros. And now the PS wants “a progressive increase that allows, in 2025 and progressively until 2028, to reach 800 euros.”

This is another victory for the PS, which was achieved with the votes in favor of Chega. Pedro Nuno Santos rejected that there is a coalition between the two parties, stating that the PS proposes and Chega votes as he sees fit. The truth is that on other occasions there has already been a united vote that defeated the parties in Government. It happened in the case of tolls, but it had also happened in the IRS.

The alliance between PS and Chega imposes the first defeat to the Government in the IRS. There is still half of the game left.

The proposal to increase IRS income deductions was one of the five that Pedro Nuno Santos indicated as a priority. Pedro Nuno Santos presented his specifications in the debate on the Government program, guaranteeing the “immediate” advance of the proposal to eliminate tolls, increase IRS deductible expenses with rent up to 800 euros, but also reduce VAT on electricity , change the conditions. of access to the Solidarity Supplement for the Elderly (CSI) to exclude children’s income, and to extend support for student accommodation to middle-class scholarship holders. They won the first two matches. Three more to go. And yet, meanwhile, he achieved victory for the IRS, which was not a measure that he had indicated as a priority, but he ended up following the Government’s proposal.

The defeat of the PSD/CDS was also at the hands of the PS and Chega

But it was not only the vote on the deduction of rents by the IRS that was approved in Parliament this Wednesday thanks to the PS/Chega coalition. If this connection allowed the PS to win, it also determined the leadership of the draft resolution (the only one) that the PSD/CDS had to vote on, so that the Government could move towards a comprehensive housing package.

This is how the PSD justified, through the voice of deputy João Valle e Azevedo, the rejection of the Liberal Initiative bills that sought to repeal the More Housing regulations: Bernardo Blanco ended up calling Less Housing.

The PSD did not make possible the IL measures that sought to revoke Mais Habitações, making proposals that, in fact, go in the same direction as some that the social democrats already proposed, at the time of the socialist majority in Parliament, and which were rejected. That’s exactly what IL remembers.

Without the support of the PSD/CDS, the IL proposals, which had the support of Chega, failed. Chega voted in favor of the majority of IL’s proposals which, according to the PSD, cost the State 1.2 billion. This is because IL wants to end the IMT (the PSD only wants a reduction for young people) – which in its words is “the stupidest tax in the world” (a quote from António Guterres) – and wants to give autonomy to the local authorities. authorities so they cannot apply the IMI when they wish. The PSD counted the costs of the IL measures: the end of the IMT would cost the State 1.7 billion euros and the stamp tax exemptions another 400 million. It was then that João Valle e Azevedo assumed budgetary responsibility. Which, in fact, led Rui Rocha to ask himself: “What damage did people who live in Portugal and are over 35 years old do to the PSD? Have a moment of courage, don’t listen to the PD. Vote in favor of these measures.”

The IL package included the revocation of the contribution on local accommodation, which the PSD promised to do as soon as it became government, and the end of coercive leasing by the state.

But without the support of the PSD/CDS, which abstained from some IL measures, but even voted against others, the liberal initiatives were not approved, especially because they always had the vote against the PS, author of Mais Habitação.

Chega’s bills were also rejected. Neither the PSD nor the PS approved Chega’s proposals, which ended in zero.

This despite the fact that Chega ended up allowing, with his abstention, the left to lead the PSD/CDS resolution project. PSD, CDS and IL voted in favor, but the combination of votes against by PS, PCP, Bloco, PAN and Livre with Chega’s abstention brought them to the ground. For now. After the vote, Hugo Soares, parliamentary leader of the PSD, asked to speak to question the vote and the quorum, since six social democratic deputies voted remotely. Which, according to the PSD accounts, were enough to approve the proposal since the socialist bench was not complete.

The issue will be resolved at a conference of leaders, Hugo Soares suggested.

For now, then, the defeat of the PSD/CDS persists.

As of this Wednesday’s votes, Livre was in charge of guaranteeing the approval of a bill and a proposed resolution. Also in general, going down to the specialty, Livre approved the extension of the regime for granting protected housing credit to household members who live with the disabled person, with the abstention of the PSD/CDS and the favorable vote of all the other parties . . And he guaranteed the approval of the recommendation to the Government to reinforce support measures for university housing in Portugal. The PAN also approved the recommendation to the Government to support the beneficiaries of Porta 65 with the initial expenses of the lease contract. Also in this case the PSD and the CDS abstained.

In the discussion about Mais Habitação, the left and the right do not understand each other, and there was unanimous criticism of the PS from the right that their governments had made the sector worse. From the left, measures such as golden visas, the regime for non-habitual residents, were attacked.

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The criticisms alternated: sometimes the benches criticized the Government, sometimes they turned to the PS and the previous Executive. António Filipe, of the PCP, maintained that the PSD and the CDS “lose due to lack of assistance” by presenting a draft resolution (a recommendation to the Government) that is nothing more than a “program of intentions”, instead of bills . Paulo Núncio, of the CDS, defended what was also his draft resolution that recommended measures on three axes: a “shock” of housing supply that includes a program of public-private alliances with the construction and rehabilitation of properties; a rent reinforcement program and another to encourage the purchase of the first home, with tax benefits. In addition, the right wants to revoke the “most harmful measures” of the More Housing program to “resolve in the long term the chaos in Housing left by the PS.” Not only was the Mais Habitação program not repealed, but the PSD/CDS was defeated in the votes. However, the direction of Chega’s vote on IL projects (in favor) may provide signs for the future.