An approval has been given for the request to hear the Finance Minister and the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security regarding the potential future inclusion of currently exempt social benefits in the “synthetic notion of income” subject to IRS, and about ongoing practices of disregarding non-contributory benefits as income for IRS bracket purposes and access to other social supports, with opposition from PSD and support from PS, Chega, and Livre, announced Socialist deputy Miguel Costa Matos.
In early September, during a press briefing at the parliament, Deputy Costa Matos criticized the government of “giving with one hand and taking with the other.”
“The government aims to create a synthetic notion of income for IRS purposes, with the express objective, written in the government program, to have people who currently do not pay IRS start paying, thus allowing for rate reductions for others. It’s a way of giving with one hand and taking with the other,” the Socialist deputy accused.
From the PS perspective, “if it is incomprehensible” for artistic, scientific, or sports scholarships, which currently do not pay IRS, it is even more concerning for those receiving social benefits, “which the government now wants to tax through IRS with the other hand.”
According to the PS deputy and leader, in a decent society, people are supported “when they are down, when they need it, and by combating poverty.”
“That’s why we have social benefits and that’s why social benefits do not pay IRS,” he explained.
