The Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, stated on Wednesday that “economic and financial figures are only important if they translate into quality of life for people, if they serve as instruments for deepening democracy and social justice.”
“It’s encouraging when we look at the Portuguese economy and, contrary to some forecasts, we can confirm that in 2024 we are growing above the average growth of the European Union and the Eurozone. We can acknowledge that we are one of the few EU Member States to present a surplus, which exceeded all expectations, including our own,” emphasized Luís Montenegro while speaking at the National Council of the Social Democratic Party (PSD).
Luís Montenegro also pointed out that the Socialist Party (PS), “the main opposition party, had a budgetary projection of 0.4%.”
“We concluded the year 2024, despite reducing taxes, particularly the IRS for the middle class, granting an extraordinary supplement to pensioners as a return of approximately 400 million euros in revenue collection, and beginning to update various public sector careers. Despite these challenges, we managed to surpass all estimates and close 2024 with a surplus of 0.7%,” he remarked, adding that the government succeeded in “lowering taxes,” increasing earnings, among other achievements.
The Prime Minister further emphasized, “We managed to energize the economy and achieve a much better financial outcome than what was projected in the State Budget and by the main opposition party, which claimed we would ruin everything achieved in Portugal’s public accounts.”
“We ended the year 2024 by fulfilling our commitment to reduce the tax burden. We began in 2024 a trajectory we aim to maintain in the coming years of reducing the tax load, and, simultaneously, in 2024, public investment increased by 11%. This may seem like just a number, but it represents a significant shift from what came before,” he stated.
He added, “We are discussing the State’s responsibility to execute what it proposes to do.”
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