The socialist chorus for a new tax on unexpected profits – in which personalities such as the party chairman, Carlos César, the former minister and current deputy Alexandra Leitão and the former minister and current MEP Pedro Marques, pontificate – is growing, but the party- and head of government, António Costa, does not seem inclined to adopt the proposal (and tomorrow he will announce a new package of support measures, this time for companies).
The idea that remained on Tuesday from the interview he gave to TVI/CNN Portugal and which had already been suggested by parliament speaker Eurico Brilhante Dias, is that this measure will have to be the subject of a coordinated initiative in the EU to give way to those in Portugal.
In the interview, António Costa started with the assurance that the government is keeping all options open: “We are not ruling out or deciding. We are following this situation step by step. We have seen the situation in other countries that have announced this measure and one of them [que não identificou] had to review this measure.”
“If we find a mechanism where the extraordinary profits go directly to the consumer, that might be a more efficient and smarter mechanism for the consumer than the state that appropriates that money.”
The head of government began by explaining that the executive is currently doing two things: on the one hand, verifying “whether or not these extraordinary gains exist”; and on the other hand, if, if they exist, “they are not already taxed”. Because, he recalls, there is already a state tax on extraordinary gains and the CESE (Extraordinary Contribution for the Energy Sector) is still in effect.
Therefore, “if it is justified there will be measures and if it is not justified there will be no measures”. But in any case, the prime minister has expressed his personal preference for a different kind of measure: “If we find a mechanism in which extraordinary profits go directly to the consumer, this might be a more efficient and smarter mechanism for the consumer than the state appropriates that money.”
In the EU, Socialist MEP Pedro Marques – one of the defenders of this tax – believes that it is even possible to move towards a coordinated European initiative (focusing on the energy sector) and “the sooner the better” (after Germany said it only if the European Commission does not go along): “I think there is a clear chance of coordination, after the advance of Germany and the proposal that the European Commission will make. The Europeans suffer from energy prices and do not understand if some (few ) companies make billions”.
The socialist MEP recalls that the UN (António Guterres) has already demanded this measure, as have the European Parliament and several EU governments. And what the prime minister said in the interview: “everything was right”: it is necessary “to monitor the specific situation in the sector to see if excessive profits are still being generated and to evaluate European initiatives”.
PSD is against
In any case, Costa and the PS are already certain of one thing: if they move forward, they will never get the support of the PSD (unless there is eventually a European support framework).
Even before the interview with the Prime Minister aired, PSD leader Luís Montenegro challenged Costa to “raise his voice” in Europe against this new tax (known in international economic jargon as a windfall tax, i.e., translate, a tax on profit that “falls out of the sky””).
“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 tax , reported journalists in Mortágua.
In other words, “We, in the PSD, are not in favor of taxing companies even more, not even those that have profits that are larger than normal at this stage”. And this is because – he added – “these profits are already taxed” and the tax on the activities of companies “is large enough to sometimes be uncompetitive in attracting investment”.
This, Montenegro said, is the PSD’s “principal position”, but “if there is a decision on a European scale”, the party will have to “frame the issue in that domain”. According to Luís Montenegro, “each country should look at this reality, taking into account its own situation”. “If we define tax policy at the EU level, we need to define it in a cross-cutting way and not just when it matters to certain countries.”
Source: DN
