Mariana Mortágua, coordinator of BE, proposed this Sunday to channel the municipal tax on transfers of loss-making properties (IMT) to a national municipal fund that would be redistributed based on territorial cohesion criteria, putting an end to the real estate speculation.
“We propose that municipal revenues be separated from speculation. We propose that IMT revenues be channeled into a national municipal fund that redistributes them according to territorial cohesion criteria, definitively cutting the link between municipal speculation and revenues,” said Mariana Mortágua in the closing of the European Seminar on Housing, organized by the European Left and BE, in Porto.
Saying that this is a “proposal for the future and that it could make a big difference for housing in Portugal”, the blocker believed that local authorities cannot be dependent, nor should they have an incentive to promote real estate speculation .
And he added: “This proposal definitively puts an end to this perverse link that makes the promotion of speculation an autarkic policy.”
According to him, IMT revenues can and should serve local housing policies, and it is necessary to put an end to this “regime agreement that exists in Portugal and involves the central government and local authorities of all colors, which real estate speculation.” .
Cities and towns should serve the residents and communities that live there, “not by being monopoly pieces in a game of competition for the income from speculation,” he said.
“In the last 10 years, IMT revenues have increased by 336%. And who has benefited from that? In order, Lisbon, Cascais, Loulé, Porto, Oeiras, Sintra, Vila Nova de Gaia, Lagos, Albufeira and Grândola, none people, on the contrary, this enthusiasm on the part of the government and local authorities with the increase in housing prices became a policy, it became a source of pride for the political decision makers and that is why they fought like lions to keep the golden visas and multiply local accommodation to attract buyers, investors and foreign speculators,” emphasizes Mariana Mortágua.
According to the BE coordinator, not only does 40% of IMT revenues come from the Lisbon district, but all the remaining revenue comes from coastal municipalities where “speculation, lack of housing and environmental attacks are unbearable rules that make people’s lives difficult ”. those who want to live in these municipalities”.
The IMT revenue distribution rules are a “prize for speculation and a nail in territorial cohesion,” he concluded.
Tax revenues still constitute the largest share of municipal revenues, weighing more than 35%. In 2022, there was a very significant increase in IMT collection.
“IMT continued to grow and increased by about 26.1%, that is to say it increased by about 351 million euros worldwide. Therefore, there is indeed a significant increase in IMT and that, for the first time, this is an important note, exceeds IMI revenues,” said the coordinator of the Financial Yearbook of Portuguese Municipalities, emphasizing that these results demonstrate the impact on municipal accounts of the phenomenon of rising real estate prices.
Source: DN
