In a statement released today to the press, Chega submitted a bill to the Assembly of the Republic regarding this issue, which had already been the subject of a legislative initiative by Livre with the same goal.
Chega proposes to repeal the provisions of the State Budget for 2022 and 2023, which stipulated that the application of the reduced VAT rate on a set of energy equipment would end on June 30 of this year, aiming to reinstate the reduced rate with immediate effect.
In the justification of Chega’s bill, signed by the parliamentary leader Pedro Pinto, the party blames the PSD/CDS-PP government for allowing the VAT increase from 6% to 23% and describes this decision as “a direct fiscal blow to Portuguese families.”
Chega describes it as “a tax on warmth,” applied during the summer to “essential devices ensuring dignified living conditions” rather than “luxury goods,” disproportionately affecting “the elderly, children, and the sick.”
“The impact is immediate and severe: an air conditioner at a medium price (650 euros) will cost over 100 euros more in tax. For many Portuguese families, this amount makes the purchase simply impossible,” the party illustrates.
Chega also criticizes the executive led by Luís Montenegro for making a “conscious choice of easy revenue, made without technical studies, serious impact assessments, or any plausible justification,” resulting in a breach of fiscal predictability and trust.
“The government not only penalizes those wanting to invest in minimal climate control for comfort but also hinders the technological renewal of the housing sector. Instead of facilitating the replacement of obsolete and inefficient equipment, it makes it prohibitively expensive,” Chega’s deputies criticize.
By immediately reinstating the reduced 6% rate, they assert that “fiscal fairness will be restored for families” in purchasing “climate control equipment, heat pumps, and essential energy devices.”
Last Monday, Livre presented a bill with the same goal of repealing the cessation of the reduced VAT by June 30 of this year, while the PS questioned the Minister of State and Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, if this decision was based on any study.
Days earlier, the environmental association Zero argued that the planned VAT increase on air conditioning equipment and photovoltaic panels constituted an “attack on climate policy” and that Portugal was moving in the opposite direction of the European Union.
