Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas has hinted that IRS (income tax) may start to come down in 2015.
Talking to journalists after a debate in Madrid, Portas explained: “In 2014, we will begin to lower IRC (corporate tax) to encourage investments, thus generating wealth and creating employment. Then, in 2015, we should be able to begin lowering IRS.”
The move will help the economy develop, but this can only happen if Portugal makes a clean exit from its bailout programme, he warned.
Without that, there can be “no freedom or autonomy”, he said, adding that this is one of the “very annoying” aspects of having creditors.
It is also one of the reasons why Paulo Portas has always insisted that Portugal should have only “one bailout, one programme, one calendar”.
“Once someone starts talking about a second bailout, a couple of months later someone else mentions a third,” he said, changing the focus towards the positive aspects of the Portuguese economy.
“Portugal broke its exports record in 2013. We have an exporting sector which today represents 40% of GDP (gross domestic product). These are truly important numbers and we must congratulate the companies that took a chance and expanded outside of Portugal,” he said.
Portas believes Portugal’s exports have not yet reached their peak, despite not having grown as much as in 2012.
But exports were not the only positive factor in the Portuguese economy. Unemployment is down, industrial production is up, and tourism and consumer confidence are reaching “the highest levels for the last five years”, he stressed.
The minister, whose political gaffes have made him legendary, said that a year ago two companies would close down for every company created, while now two companies open their doors for every one that goes under.
Portas was participating in Forum Europa, a European debate which took place on Monday (February 10) in Madrid.
