On the eve of the delivery of the national budget for 2023, there is white smoke between the social partners and the government. employers give the green light to the document to be presented this Sunday at 3 p.m. by Prime Minister António Costa in Palácio Foz in Lisbon.
In order to gain the approval of the employers’ federations, the government has decided to meet some of their demands, such as the cessation of contributions to the Labor Compensation Fund and the suspension of payments to the Labor Compensation Guarantee Fund (1% of salary). These measures will continue without prejudice to the increase in the minimum wage, in 2023, from €55 to €760, or selective IRC cuts for SMEs and companies that accept wages, value and invest in research and development.
So, one of the main novelties presented by the final document, we highlight the end of contributions to the work compensation fund and the suspension of supplies to the work compensation guarantee fund, which together represent 1% of the base salary and seniority to which employees are entitled. This measure, which has long been demanded by the bosses, will be maintained for the four-year validity of the agreement, ie throughout the term of office. Contributions to these funds constitute business savings intended to pay up to 50% of the amount of compensation to which the employees subject to the regime will be entitled after the termination of the employment contract.
On the treasury strengthening side, companies will be able to deduct tax losses generated in previous fiscal years up to 65% of their collection., eliminating the report time limit. “In addition, the procedures for the transfer of tax losses in the context of corporate restructuring processes have been simplified, with these being declared directly by the companies according to the agreement.
There is also a specific tax credit for agriculture. According to the document, the “exemption from the IRS tax credit applicable to non-resident farm workers on the first 50 hours of overtime” will be extended, according to the final draft of the proposal that DN/Dinheiro Vivo had access to. Faced with the lack of agricultural labor, this measure gives tax relief to farms when they have to outsource overtime to migrant workers. In 2022 and 2023, this sector will also see an increase from 20% to 40% in the increase, in terms of IRS and IRC, in spending on animal feed, fertilizers, organic and mineral corrections and extension to water for irrigation. “Immediate extraordinary support will also be created for farmers to mitigate the rise in fuel prices, equivalent to the CO2 tax, to reduce the unit rate of the Petroleum Products Tax (ISP) of agricultural diesel to the legal minimum, and to to offset VAT. , a total of 10 cents per liter, taking into account the reported agricultural diesel consumption for the last full year,” according to the Competition Agreement.
In addition, given the rise in energy costs, the government will inject around three billion euros into the electricity and gas systems., limiting the rise in energy prices. These measures translate into significant reductions in electricity costs consumed by economic sectors, including large-scale consumers, and reductions of approximately EUR 40 per MWh to a maximum of 80% of gas consumption by companies not subject to the regulated tariff, resulting in savings of approximately EUR 20 per MWh. % to 30% of the price expected in 2023 under the agreement. These savings will be announced on October 15 by the Regulatory Authority for Energy Services (ERSE).
The agreement also devotes a chapter to debts to healthcare providers. For example, the government provides the injection of 1500 million euros in EPE hospitals if these entities have not paid off their debts after three years.
Source: DN
