The Liberal Initiative (IL) president this Saturday said that António Costa’s government is “a liar” because it could have reduced the VAT on energy “months ago” to the minimum rate of 6%, but did not.
“Concerning VAT [Imposto sobre Valor Acrescentado] of energy, let’s see what will happen, but we learned this week that it could have been reduced since April. So not only is this government incompetent, not only is this government incapable of growing the country, this government is lying. For months he lied that he didn’t have permission from Brussels to lower the VAT on energy. It was a lie,” said João Cotrim Figueiredo.
The IL leader said that “it would not be understood if the VAT on energy was not reduced”, as “the government should reduce it to the minimum rate”, as “most countries are in the same boat”.
In Póvoa de Varzim, in the Porto district, where he visited the municipal market, the leader of IL emphasized that the government of António Costa “is a liar”, and added to the energy issue the episode of the unfulfilled appointment of the former information Director of TVI, Sérgio Figueiredo, as advisor to the Ministry of Finance.
“It was also a lie that it was essential to have an advisor position in the Ministry of Finance for Sérgio Figueiredo. We also realized that it was not essential because the position will not be filled. It becomes clear that in addition to being incompetent ” This is a lying government,” said Cotrim Figueiredo.
For IL, “it is time for the Portuguese to do a good check of their conscience to consider whether it is in fact an incompetent and mendacious government they want in power”.
As for the family support measures, IL says it will wait to see how many of them “have a real practical impact.”
“We’ve all had enough of PS ads,” said João Cotrim Figueiredo.
The IL chairman defended that “Governments should not have a welfare and protectionist attitude towards people”, but rather have a safety net that prevents people with greater difficulties from getting out of trouble.
“And this network exists. There is social security. The welfare vision that the state should solve people’s problems with every problem, releases people from responsibility,” he defended.
On António Costa’s refusal to introduce an extraordinary tax for companies that take advantage of inflation, Cotrim Figueiredo said he agrees with this view, because the opposite would be “a covert way to leverage the influence of the state.” enlarge”.
“It would be a form of economic intervention that we do not agree with. The moment a government feels entitled to tax what is called extraordinary profit, it has obligations: to define what is ordinary and extraordinary. It’s a challenge that failed miserably,” he said.
The newspaper Público pointed out on Friday that this was a measure called for even by several Socialist Party deputies, but that it falls outside the aid package that will be presented by the government, first for families and then for businesses.
João Cotrim Figueiredo spoke to journalists after speaking with traders and customers at the Póvoa de Varzim market, a visit within the “Liberal Routes” route that he says he wants to “go to the field to discover first-hand some people outside the campaign elections and outside the hot political moments”.
“Here I noticed that we are starting to see the decline in people’s consumption capacity. Inflation is starting to take its toll,” he concluded.
Source: DN
