Parliament is debating and voting on the last of the priority proposals in the PS electoral program. The expansion of electricity consumption covered by the reduced VAT rate does not please either the left or the right, and the socialists accused of demagoguery and electoral opportunism are now proposing a measure that will not come into force until 2025.
Almost all parties (that do not support the Government) go further in reducing VAT with projects that propose a reduced rate for all consumption of electricity, natural gas and, in the case of the PCP, for telecommunications. With the exception of the PSD and the CDS, which are left out, the other parties consider that the reduction now proposed by the socialists is “limited and insufficient.” However, despite the criticism, the socialist proposal must be approved with Chega abstaining, as the Observer points out.
Chega plans to abstain from the PS proposal to reduce VAT on electricity. Open door to another negative coalition
If so, the five priority measures of the electoral program that the socialists promised to present at the beginning of the legislature will be completed, and which include the elimination of tolls in the ex-SCUT, the increase in the income deduction in the IRS (already approved in Parliament with the vote of Chega), the accommodation supplement for students up to the 5th level (approved in Parliament), and the change in the criteria for granting the solidarity supplement for older people (measures that the PS considered appropriate by the Government).
In a debate where the discussion on the reduction of VAT was associated with the fight against energy poverty, specifically through the PAN proposal that defends the expansion of the universe of beneficiaries of the social tariff for electricity and natural gas, the Left Block was the first to indicate a favorable vote, despite the fact that Marisa Matías highlighted that the proposal does not solve the problem in question because the scope is limited.
Paula Santos of the PCP remembers that “there has been no lack of proposals from the PCP for the reduction of VAT, what has been missing are the votes of the PS and the PSD. And she questions: if the PS wants to reduce the bill, will it follow the PCP proposal that introduces a reduced VAT on energy and telecommunications? and “why didn’t he make these decisions when he was in government?”
Deputy Paulo Núncio of the CDS questions the scope of the measure, which he describes as “laughable.” It offers an average reduction of 1 euro per month per family. Isn’t the large measure of VAT worth more than a coffee a month?
Carlos Cação, from the PSD, criticizes the timing of the socialist proposal: “What is the urgency of discussing now a measure that will only come into force in 2025 and that could be discussed in October” with the State Budget?
From the same party, Alberto Fonseca made calculations about the cost of the opposition proposals and left warnings. “We are better, but we are not rich.” The PSD deputy compares the last weeks in Parliament to the script of a movie (which was the big winner of the Oscars last year). “Everything everywhere and at the same time. “They want everything and they want it everywhere at the same time.” Accusing the parties of conditioning the next Budget in an “irresponsible” way, the deputy presents the costs of the proposals to reduce VAT. That of the PS costs 100 million euros, that of the IL 500 million euros, that of the Livre e Bloco 700 million and that of the PCP more than one billion euros.
For Pedro Pinto, from Chega, the socialist proposals “prove Chega right because the coffers were full, but they left people in poverty.” The big difference with respect to the PS is that “enough, when you are in the Government you will lower taxes.” And he also questions the timing of the initiative. “And now they come here with this demagoguery arguing that taxes must be lowered? Why didn’t they do it?
Still on the right, Bernardo Blanco, from the Liberal Initiative, recalls that, in the past, the proposals presented in favor of 6% VAT received votes in favor of all parties, except the PS. “How telling would it be if the opposite happened today?” (if only the PSD-CDS would vote against).
The parliamentary leader of the PS defended the measure that will benefit more than three million families. In addition to proposing that the reduced VAT be applied to double the amount of electricity up to the contracted power of 6.9 kVA (and excluding the fixed components of the bill), the socialists want the reduced rate to stop being temporary and pass to be permanent. The consumption limit to benefit from the reduced rate is also reinforced.
Alexandra Leitão justifies the option of not lowering the rate transversally with financial responsibility – the socialist measure costs 90 or 100 million euros, the others would have an impact of hundreds of millions of euros – and with the concern of not encouraging consumption . The socialist proposal, she says, is “balanced, financially responsible, socially fair, specific and equitable and maintains the principle that the efficient use of energy should be encouraged. Therefore it excludes greater consumption.”
The price of electricity was highlighted by several parties as a financial obstacle to families’ access to heating, with numerous statistics on Portugal’s poor situation in terms of energy poverty. But there was also no shortage of calls for energy efficiency measures with investments in home insulation. The PSD deputy, Hugo Carneiro, promised that there will be news on this issue in the next State Budget, in response to Rui Tavares do Livre.
Salvador Malheiro, from the PSD, addressed this point and warned about the risk that this measure could have in increasing consumption and production of CO2. The “cleanest kilowatt is the one that is not consumed” and he defended a strategic plan of proposals, instead of what he classified as isolated measures such as this VAT reduction.
The debate was not free of contamination by parallel issues. One of them was about the blame for the increase in VAT on electricity and gas from 6% to 23% in 2011, which Paulo Núncio threw against the Government of José Sócrates, who negotiated the troika memorandum. But it was returned by other deputies who recalled that it was the Passos Coelho Government – of which Núncio was Secretary of State for Fiscal Affairs – that carried out this increase. And without avoiding Alexandra Reis’s comment. “Do you really want to return to the troika? And Vítor Gaspar’s enormous tax increase?
Source: Observadora
