PSD leader Luís Montenegro on Monday challenged Prime Minister António Costa to “raise his voice” in the European Union against the tax on extraordinary corporate profits in the context of high inflation.
“I think this is a good opportunity for the Prime Minister to defend his position together with the European Union, because as far as I know his position is the same as mine”, ie disagree with the creation of this taxhe told reporters in Mortágua.
Luís Montenegro commented on the statements of the parliamentary leader of the PS, who did not rule out the deepening of tax measures to combat extraordinary profits, but considered it essential that this solution be agreed in the European Union so as not to put Portugal at a “disadvantage”. “.
The PSD chairman recalled that “it was reported last week that he (António Costa) did not agree with the introduction of this tax on the so-called extraordinary profits and it was not denied”.
“Therefore, if the Prime Minister understands that this is the position the country should take, I believe he should raise his voice in the European Union, so much so that he complained so often that it was necessary to be a strong voice in Europe.” he emphasized.
Montenegro recalled that he had already announced the PSD’s position more than a month ago, but believed that “the issue in the PS is more controversial”.
“We, in the PSD, are not in favor of introducing more tax on companies, even those that have higher than normal profits at this stage,” he reiterated.
This is because – he added – “these profits are already taxed” and the tax on the operations of companies “is large enough to sometimes be uncompetitive in attracting investment”.
“This is basically our position of course, if there is a decision on a European scale, I believe this was the scenario prepared by the PS Speaker, we will have to frame the issue in that domain,” he said. .
According to Luís Montenegro and the PSD, “each country should look at this reality, taking into account its own situation”.
“If we define tax policy at the level of the European Union, we have to define it in a cross-cutting way and not just when it matters to certain countries,” he defended.
The Social Democratic leader said that “there are some strong economies in Europe that are interested in, and those who are responsible, regardless of their political nature, defend this issue”, which he respects.
However, he does not think that “Portugal should always follow Europe’s major interests,” he added.
Montenegro recalled the times “when the PS complained that it was necessary to have a strong voice in Europe”, i.e. it “must not accept without reaction all the directives of the European institutions”.
Source: DN
