During a press meeting in Bragança linked to the presidential elections, António Filipe stated that he has consistently advocated for EDP to pay taxes related to the sale of dams, even before the Public Prosecutor’s Office justified the collection of these taxes.
The candidate emphasized that the decision by the Public Prosecutor’s Office should be enforced, stating “it is unthinkable that court decisions are not enforced under the pretense of financial difficulties by the State.”
“We are discussing a government that recently approved a reduction in corporate income tax (IRC), which will result in tax relief worth billions of euros for very large companies at the expense of State interests. Hence, it cannot be claimed that there are financial injuries when the State forgoes such revenue in favor of very large companies,” he asserted.
Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento remarked on Wednesday that it is “premature” to count on the revenue from taxes concerning the sale of the six dams in the Trás-os-Montes region, as EDP can still appeal the Public Prosecutor’s Office decision.
In response to these statements, António Filipe lambasted the minister. “I believe there is an unacceptable stance of subservience by the Government and the highest officials of the public administration, like the Tax Authority, towards accepting the position of a multinational instead of defending the interests of the State and the populations,” he pointed out.
According to António Filipe, the Ministry of Finance “never wanted to take responsibility for this, to make decisions amid conflicting positions and opinions within the Tax Authority,” but, in his view, should have assumed “responsibilities” with a “stance favorable to the populations and the interest of the Portuguese State, which was to collect these taxes.”
The former communist deputy also argued that the President of the Republic should have been more proactive in this matter.
“The President of the Republic is not a tax collector, nor is he the Tax Authority, but cannot remain silent in such a situation, just as I believe the candidates should not remain silent, and I will not remain silent,” he emphasized.
The six dams in the Trás-os-Montes region were sold by EDP to a French consortium, Engie, in 2020. Since then, municipalities where they are located have demanded the payment of taxes related to the sale, including property tax (IMI) and real estate transfer tax (IMT).
