The Municipal Assembly of Porto approved, by majority, to set the Personal Income Tax (IRS) at 3% and maintain the Municipal Property Tax (IMI) at 0.324% for 2025.
The proposal to reduce the tax burden of citizens, through reduction of 0.5 percentage points in the IRS, was approved by majoritywith BE and CDU voting against.
For the CDU, deputy Rui Sá said he agreed with the position defended by the president of the chamber, Rui Moreira, until 2021 – the year in which the independent movement signed a governance agreement with the PSD -, arguing that the income They could be used by the municipality to protect the most vulnerable populations.
Deputy Susana Constante Pereira, from BE, also said she followed the executive’s previous position, arguing that the The measure “disproportionately benefits people with high incomes”.
The reduction of the IRS is one of the measures included in the governance agreement.
In response, Rui Moreira stated that, in his opinion, “Neither Porto nor any municipality should be able to make reductions” on the participation of municipalities in the IRS, arguing that this has nothing to do with returning funds to taxpayers, nor with raising more revenue for municipalities, but rather with the fact that “anyone can name an address or other”.
“We made an agreement with the PSD, which we will comply with“, however, guaranteed the mayor.
The social democrat Nuno Borges considered that the measure reflects “the firm commitment of the PSD to families”, not being “just a figure in the municipal budget, but a declaration of principles.”
“Since the beginning of this mandate and thanks to the governance agreement, we have achieved a 40% reduction in the participation rate in the IRS,” he said, also welcoming the maintenance of the IMI rate, especially for those who own permanent homes. .
The maintenance of the IMI tax at 0.324% and the 30% increase for unoccupied buildings was approved by a majority with BE voting against, which argued that maintaining the rate “represents significant income losses for the municipality.”
For the PS, Agostinho Sousa Pinto congratulated the municipality for continuing to reduce the IRS rate, as well as for maintaining the IMI rate, but urged the executive to identify vacant properties that meet the increase requirements.
The sole deputy of the PAN, Paulo Vieira de Castro, recalled that some municipalities in the country chose to apply the minimum IMI rate and renounce part or all of the IRS, considering, however, that it is “a path that is being taken to help the citizens of Porto“.
To the deputies, Rui Moreira clarified that 53,412 autonomous units benefited, in 2023, from the IMI rate applied by the municipality to permanent own homes, which is set at 0.27%.
Through the independent movement “Rui Moreira: Here Ha Porto”, deputy Raúl Almeida defended the importance of the municipality “having a course that benefits the people of Porto, using more equity than blind equality” in matters of fiscal policy.
Parallel to the discussion on tax benefits, the Municipal Assembly approved, by majority, to set the municipal right-of-way rate for 2025 at 0.25%.
In this regard, there were several criticisms of the “inaction of the regulator.”
“During the last 20 years the budget has stabilized at 80,000 euros. We have received 1.6 million euros in the last 20 years. I cannot understand how any authority does not care about this matter. It must be a clean system,” said Rui Moreira.
The beginning of the session, which took place on Monday evening, was also marked by a debate around a vote of condolence and condemnation presented by BE for the death of the mayor and councilors of the city of Nabatiyeh, in southern Lebanon.
The respective vote was not included in the vote by decision of the Board of Directors of the Assembly, which understood that its considerations were equivalent to a recommendation and that this should be presented in a future ordinary session.
Source: Observadora
