The PSD accused the PS on Wednesday of carrying out “the biggest budgetary somersault in recent years” by withdrawing from the deterioration of the IUC, while the IL classified this proposal as “pure and hard electoralism”.
At the end of the deadline for submitting proposals for changes to the 2024 state budget, the PS on Tuesday evening presented a proposal to remove the increase in the single traffic tax (IUC) for vehicles before 2007 from the 2024 state budget. OE2024), arguing that it is “a matter of social justice and protection of citizens with greater economic vulnerability”.
Speaking to journalists from the Assembly of the Republic, the vice-president of the PSD bank Hugo Carneiro recalled that the entire opposition had criticized this increase as “an injustice against the middle class and more disadvantaged classes”, but that the government and the PS justified this. not for environmental reasons.
“After all, this argument from the PS and the government was false. There is no concern about the environment, there was only concern about increasing Portuguese taxes (…) What is the real reason for the withdrawal? It’s the elections”he stressed, admitting that this proposal may even go against the will of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, “but they are no longer the ones responsible for the internal life of the PS”.
For the PSD, he stressed, this was “never an electoral issue, but a matter of social justice” towards all Portuguese who do not change cars “because they have no money”.
A few minutes later, IL President Rui Rocha also spoke to journalists in parliament, classifying the PS proposal as “absolutely opportunistic and electoralist.”
“It’s a shame that they waited for an election campaign for this change. It is pure hypocrisy, pure opportunism, pure and harsh electoralism,” he accused.
Rui Rocha ironized that the PS, in justifying the withdrawal on social justice grounds, admitted that “the government’s proposal that it supported until a few hours ago was very unfair.”
The entire opposition defended the elimination of this deterioration of the IUC and the PSD proposal was the first to be submitted, and it should also be voted on before the PS.
“We can see how the PS leads all the opposition proposals and then votes in favor of theirs. Sometimes we live in these moments of political schizophrenia,” joked Hugo Carneiro, emphasizing that this was the last proposal of the Socialists to be submitted, long close. until the delivery deadline (postponed from 6:00 PM to 11:45 PM).
Both sides hailed this decline as “a victory for citizenship”, as several movements took to the streets to protest this increase.
“Although the government said from the beginning that it was only an increase of 25 euros, I remember that it was an increase of 25 euros per year,” the PSD delegate emphasized.
This is a measure from OE2024 that changes the tax rules, in terms of IUC, for category A vehicles registered before 2007 and motorcycles (category E), providing that they are no longer taxed solely on the basis of cylinder capacity. is currently the case) is now considered as the environmental component.
Finance Minister Fernando Medina had sent the PS faction on Tuesday a possible withdrawal in the increase in the IUC for older vehicles, arguing that the government presented its position in the budget.
Source: DN
