Political commentator Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has called the government’s tax-dodge ‘solution’ of offering luxury cars in a weekly lottery to taxpayers who demand official receipts as “repugnant”.
Speaking in his weekly slot on national television, the former PSD leader said the plan “flies in the face of everything the coalition government has stood for in the last three years”.
“This government, when it came in, said it would change Portuguese habits… and institute a cultural revolution by rooting out the tendency for people to live beyond their means,” said Rebelo de Sousa.
“This prime minister … when he decides to give a prize, what does he give? A tax rebate? Savings certificates? No, he gives luxury cars!”
It’s a reaction shared by national environmental association Quercus which criticised the plan over two weeks ago, calling it “lamentable” for much the same reasons.
Indeed, criticism has poured in from all quarters. As BBC journalist Alison Roberts points out: “It has also not escaped people’s notice that lottery winners will be liable for tax on the value of their prize. In other words, a big chunk of the recycled VAT that paid for the fancy car will go straight back into state coffers.”
Nonetheless, the government is sticking to its guns.
“We won’t back down,” Deputy PM Paulo Portas told journalists last week, at the same time conceding: “It’s only possible to talk about the ‘Factura da Sorte’ (Lucky Receipt) if there are receipts.”
By demanding an official receipt from any type of business and for any amount – on which individuals must declare their own tax identification number – taxpayers will immediately qualify for lotteries of top-of-the-range cars.
The government hopes its ‘Factura da Sorte’ will increase tax revenue by as much as 50%. If it does, this will translate into the giving out of as many as 60 luxury cars per year.
Meantime, writes the BBC, European Union officials will be watching Portugal with interest to see if the plan could be taken on in other member states.
