After all, the compensation of half a million euros that TAP Alexandra Reis – Secretary of State for Finance who was invited to resign on Tuesday evening – paid to leave the airline early on February 28 this year costs 725 thousand euros, that is another 225 thousand euros, as the public company is required to pay autonomous tax, in the form of IRC, on that fee, reveals lawyer specialist in tax law, Fernando Castro Silva.
“In the case of a manager’s compensation for the termination of his professional relationship, TAP is obliged to pay autonomous tax on the said compensation, which corresponds to 45% of the amount paid,” explains the lawyer, partner of Garrigues, an international legal and tax service. DN/Dinheiro Vivo confirmed the information. According to paragraphs 13 and 14 of Article 88 of the Corporate Income Tax Code, “at the rate of 35% costs or charges in respect of damages or benefits not related to the achievement of previously established productivity targets in the relationship contract, when there is a termination of office as a manager, administrator or manager”. In the next point, the legislation states that expected rates will be increased by 10 percentage points, increasing the tax to 45%, when companies present a tax loss, as is the case with TAP.
So the bill will be heavier than the 500,000 euros, but it could get worse if the airline, led by Christine Ourmières-Widener, complies with Alexandra Reis’s demands. In a response that the airline sent this Tuesday to the ministries of Finance and Infrastructure to clarify the legality of the compensation amount, it appears that the former manager even asked for compensation of 1.47 million euros, almost three times the agreed amount. “In exchange for the termination of all contractual relationships, and notwithstanding Alexandra Reis’ initial claim of EUR 1,479,250, it was possible to reduce and agree on a global gross total value of EUR 500,000 to be paid to Alexandra Reis. be paid,” reads the TAP statement released by the government on Tuesday.
Of the half million to be paid to Alexandra Reis, 56 thousand euros “specifically correspond to the compensation for the termination of the employment contract for an indefinite period”, since the former manager joined TAP on September 1, 2017 in a permanent job, which had been suspended for appointment to the board of directors, in September 2020 by the private shareholder, David Pedrosa, for a period of three months, and later by the previous government of António Costa for a term of four years, between 2021 and 2024. The company clarifies that the service time count has not been frozen, but continues to count for seniority purposes.
Another tranche of half a million euros relates to 443,500 euros as “compensation for the early termination of mandate contracts related to management functions”, explains TAP. The company also indicates that of the 443,500 euros, 107,500 euros are related to overdue benefits that have been claimed, corresponding to unused vacations, and 336 thousand euros are related to benefits not yet due and equivalent to one year of base salary, taking into account the unadulterated gross remuneration resulting from emergency regulations or other deductions. TAP draws attention to the fact that this figure for a year’s wages in which Alexandra Reis did not have to work, because she agreed to step down as director, is “lower than the annual base salary” of the former manager (350 thousand euros). .
TAP also clarifies that both the employment relationship and the contractual termination fall outside the regime of the Statute of the Public Manager, so that the salary limits do not apply, which must be lower than those of the Prime Minister (5792 euros), and the severance pay (maximum 12 months salary). Don’t forget that Alexandra Reis earned 17,500 euros a month already after the 30% discount due to the restructuring process.
Doubts about who made the first move to break the contracts were also allayed. TAP revealed that it was at the initiative of the company that “the negotiation process with Alexandra Reis began, in the sense of reaching a consensus by agreement on the immediate termination of all existing contractual ties”. That is, the former manager actually submitted her resignation, as indicated in the courier’s statement sent to the CMVM in February, but this happened as a result of an invitation from TAP to Alexandra Reis to leave. The government will now forward all “clarifications from TAP to the General Inspectorate of Finance and the Securities Market Commission for review of all relevant facts,” the same statement read.
Involved in controversy, the Secretary of State for Finance will have asked for an excuse in the TAP file, since it was the Minister of Finance, according to CNN Portugal, who signed the order authorizing the injection of 980 million euros into the company, the last check of the 3.2 billion that the state has earmarked under the restructuring plan.
Salomé Pinto is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
