The PCP wants to end the granting of “golden visas” in the state budget for 2023, as it believes the government has “a good chance” of implementing them.
“The PCP will propose the end of ‘golden visas’, it remains to be seen whether the government indeed has that political will to end [aos ‘vistos gold’] and has a good chance in the state budget to accompany the PCP,” the communist parliamentary leader, Paula Santos, insisted on the sidelines of a demonstration by teachers in front of the Assembly of the Republic.
Prime Minister António Costa announced on Wednesday that the socialist government is evaluating the continuity of the ‘golden visa’ regime for obtaining a residence permit in Portugal.
“There are programs that we are currently re-evaluating and one of them is the ‘gold visa’, which has probably already fulfilled the function it was supposed to perform and which is not justified to maintain at this point,” said António Costa.
After these statements by the prime minister, the leader of the communist bank believed that this regime only… “involved speculation” and “added housing difficulties, with a very significant price increase”, which translated into “a lot of trouble for a lot of families”.
“It is a regime that does not benefit our country and that is why we believe it should be ended,” he added.
In the party’s proposed amendment to the budget law for next year, the communists believe the “gold visas” are “a clear contribution to real estate speculation and the creation of difficulties in the housing rental market”.
By December 2021, 10,254 residence permits had been issued, of which 9,585 through real estate purchases; 649 through capital transfers and just 20 through job creation.
From the PCP’s point of view, residency permits in the country are “not allowed to be commercialized” and the “no money” criterion can be.
Catarina Martins challenges PS to approve BE’s proposal to end ‘gold visa’
The BE coordinator on Wednesday defended that if the Prime Minister’s words about ‘golden visas’ are “to be taken seriously”, the PS must approve the blockers’ proposal to end this regime within the scope of the state budget.
“I note that every day the Prime Minister has announced measures that he has not included in the state budget, but I wanted to reassure the PS. in previous state budgets,” Catarina Martins told journalists on the sidelines of the concentration of teachers for the Assembly of the Republic, in Lisbon.
In the opinion of the leader of the blockers, “if we are to take the Prime Minister’s words seriously, the PS has a good option, which is to approve the BE measure before the end of the ‘golden visa'”.
These are the statements made this morning by António Costa that the government is evaluating the end of the ‘golden visa’.
Defending that this regime is “not just a way of making our country complicit in international corruption” or “money laundering”, Catarina Martins said it is also responsible for the rise in house prices in Portugal.
“I also note that the Prime Minister says he will have new incentives for people with a lot of money from the rest of the world to be able to buy houses in Portugal,” he added.
Catarina Martins wants “an open country, where everyone is welcome, but where people who earn a wage in Portugal can afford a house”.
“What the government is announcing is that it will continue privilege regimes for the very wealthy that will continue to drive up housing prices and those who work in our country on a salary will not continue to have this basic right to housing… no exchange of privilege regimes for accept other privilege regimes,” he warned.
In summary, for the BE coordinator, “ending the ‘gold visa’ is great news, albeit true and the PS votes on the Bloc’s proposal because the government does not propose in the budget to end the ‘gold visa'” .
PAN Moves Forward With Proposal To Revoke “Golden Visa” At OE2023
The PAN this Wednesday submitted a proposal for an amendment to the state budget for 2023, which provides for the repeal of the “golden visa” regime and conduct a study to assess the effects of these measures.
“This Wednesday we have already submitted a proposal for a budget amendment that aims, on the one hand, to abolish this regime and, on the other hand, to conduct a study to assess all the impact that existed, both economic and social, around this program,” announced spokesman and sole party member, Inês Sousa Real.
In conversation with journalists in parliament, Inês Sousa Real defended the end of this incentive scheme to attract investors through the residence permit in Portugal, and believed that the Prime Minister’s announcement, that this Wednesday He said the government will assess the continuity of this regime, “to be confirmed”, it is a decision that only “sin to be late”.
Sousa Real said his party had already asked the government “several times” about the need to examine the consequences of this social and economic regime, and warned of the “inequality” it created in the granting of residence permits in Portugal.
For the sole deputy of the PAN, it is “relevant that specific measures in the same direction are approved in the course of this state budget”.
To illustrate the importance of studying the impact of this regime, Inês de Sousa Real addressed the news published Friday by the Expresso newspaper, according to which holders of “gold” visas would receive the 125 euros in extraordinary aid that is created by the government to limit the loss of purchasing power.
“We need to understand what went less well in this regime and what replacement can or cannot be done, taking into account the strong impact it had, whether it was touristic, environmental or economic and especially on housing, which is a fundamental right in our country,” he concluded.
Source: DN
