From the Tax and Customs Administration for young people to housing: what the parties are asking on 10 June

valuing income; giving hope to young people; grow as a country; fight inequality; more government investment in housing; more environment; and finally to give dignity, dynamism and diversity. Here are the main ideas of the parliamentary leaders for the country on June 10, the Day of Portugal, Camões and the Portuguese Communities. At the insistence of the DN, the delegates, with the exception of Chega who failed to respond to the challenge to the DN in time, pointed out the challenges and, from left to right, all converge, including the PS itself: there is room to do more and better in the near future.

Through the vote of Eurico Brilhante Dias, leader of the Socialist Group, the party believes that the road is one of appreciate “income – wages and pensions” so that it is possible to continue the “economic growth path of recent years”. In addition, the deputy says, the June 10 celebrations, held in Peso da Régua, in addition to valuing communities, “serve to promote territories and territorial cohesion”. “This is a principle, so that we can build a country that is more solid, inclusive, cohesive, fair and prosperous and with fewer asymmetries,” argues Brilhante Dias. This position is in line with what the President of the Republic said the day before, already in Peso da Régua: the fundamental idea is to pay attention to the “sometimes forgotten interiors” of the country.

Despite being against, the PSD is following the same line and targeting the IRS, which Joaquim Miranda Sarmento says needs to be overhauled to give young people more hope. Recalling that when discussing the National Budget for 2023, the party “submitted a proposal for a maximum IRS rate of 15% for young people up to the age of 35 (for income from work and excluding the last rung)”, leader social- democratic parliamentarian says that andthis measure would make it possible “to retain young talent and to attract young talent from abroad”. By using this tax reform, the lower age groups “see their net income rise sharply”, the deputy argues.

On the IL bank, the motto is given by the motto of the election campaign, calling on the emigrants who have left the country in recent years: Portugal must grow. For the Liberal parliamentary leader, this is a priority “given the manifest incompetence and obvious incompetence of the socialist administration”. And it is not only “because of the economic dimension”, but also because “a more prosperous country is always better able to solve all social problems, from health to education, from justice to security”, he says and concludes: “Those who emigrate must do so voluntarily, never obligatory.”

Like the right, the left asks for more

On the left, the tune is the same: more is needed. Beginning with the PCP, the Communists took the opportunity of June 10 to demand a tougher fight against inequalities and injustices “which grow as the living conditions of workers and pensioners worsen”. Says Paula Santos, parliamentary leader: “As workers become impoverished through work, with wages losing real value, economic groups reap obscene profits. Although it is the workers who create wealth, they are the ones who keep the smallest share. This policy, says the coordinator of the communist bank, which should include “the tax relief on labor income and the effective taxation of large capital”, as well as support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Pedro Filipe Soares, parliamentary leader of the Bloco de Esquerda, focuses on housing, a sector in which the lack of policies “to respond to the rise in the price of housing and rent is part of the scourge”. The middle class and the most disadvantaged families, he says, are “pushed away from urban centers, at the mercy of real estate speculation”. This reality, which is contemplating are not inevitable, but “a bounty for speculators”. Therefore, the party defends more government investment in the sector. The aim of this proposal is to “ensure fair prices”, control the market and prevent speculation. “Houses are there to live in, not to speculate,” concludes the bloquista parliament leader.

The deputy and PAN leader, Inês Sousa Real, believes there is room for greener policies, which “connect the economy and the environment at a time of climate crisis” like the current one – the country “would have a lot to gain ‘, she contemplates. And he leaves two concrete examples for reflection on this day: simplification”of the scheme for the sale of surplus energy produced for own use from renewable energy sources” and also “the creation of the Sol para Todos solidarity program, to allow the transfer of energy surpluses in solidarity for vulnerable families”. combating energy poverty, contributing to decarbonisation and the energy transition should also be a prioritysaid the deputy.

Finally, Rui Tavares, from Livre, begins by emphasizing that on this day Portugal is “probably one of the few countries” to celebrate “poetry, language and culture” (in memory of Camões, who died on this date). invoke “battles, wars or generals”. This connection, says Livre’s only deputy and spokesperson, can serve as inspiration for the future. If? By “anchoring the development model in knowledge, in culture, in the integration between humanities and technology”. “With its geographical conditions, its European integration, its links with communities and the Portuguese-speaking world, Portugal has unique conditions to be a dynamic society, with dignity and diversity,” he concludes.

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