José Luís Carneiro did not make the feasibility of the State Budget strict, but recognized that Luís Montenegro fulfilled the requests of the Socialist Party and that this deserves to be admitted and considered for the vote. “The Government responded to the demands of the Socialist Party, particularly on labor issues which were, for us, a vital matter for our political option. It also responded in relation to health services and the Basic Health Law, in relation to Social Security and also in the treatment, outside the Budget, of fiscal issues”spoke in Maia, even admitting that it will provide government stability: “For this very reason, I will respect and honor the word I gave to the Portuguese to contribute to political stability.” He deviated after the explicit response regarding the feasibility of the Budget: “I intend, next week, to listen to the leadership of the parliamentary bench and the National Political Commission.” He left the warning that “the forecast of a reduction in IRC revenue of 2% and an increase in IRS revenue by 5.5%”, means that “These are family incomes that are supporting the Government’s fiscal policy options.”
Chega, the second political force in Parliament, was more critical, despite being satisfied with the increase in the value for Defense. Like the Liberal Initiative, it does not guarantee viability of the State Budget. “It seems very negative. If the Government is hoping to keep the tax burden high and increase fuel prices, there is not much to do”, said André Ventura, in Porto, criticizing the reduction in discounts on the carbon tax, relativizing, regarding the vote: “It is a warning only of what is important to us. This was a document delivered now, I hope that now there are conditions for it to be changed.”
In Ponte de Lima, Mariana Leitão said that the document “not ambitious”, rather, “greedy for the State”, not responding to “the increase in the cost of living” and presenting “a high tax burden.” “First of all, housing. When will the measures be published?”questions the president of IL, without saying the meaning of the vote.
Livre referred to the importance of immigrant discounts for the Government’s accounts. “Despite the Central Administration presenting a deficit, Social Security presents an estimated surplus for 2025 of 5.4 million euros, that is, an increase of around 14%. It ends up being the workers who manage, in some way, to compensate for the Central Administration’s deficit in the Budget. Including immigrant workers who discount”, said deputy Patrícia Gonçalves.
The PAN considers “absurd” to receive the State Budget in the middle of the campaign for the Local Government, considering it “not worthy of debate”, highlighting that “it falls short in relieving the cost of living of the Portuguese and for companies looking for a green economy”, said Inês de Sousa Real. Juntos Pelo Povo, like PAN and Livre, does not express a vote. Filipe Sousa, despite the 14.5 million euros increase for the autonomous regions, points out the “lack of vision”, although he applauds the “moderate decrease in the IRS.”
Paula Santos, from the PCP, guarantees “denouncement and combat” of a document that is “contributing to the problems of the Portuguese”, highlights the transfer of “1500 million euros of public resources to public-private partnerships” and the “maintenance of real estate speculation.”
Mariana Mortágua talks about favoring banks. “You will benefit in two ways. The IRC, the tax that banks pay on profits, drops and stops paying the solidarity supplement”, mentioning “social inequality”. In Barcelos, the BE coordinator pointed out that “the Spinumviva case is not favorable” and that the deputies would be “too busy campaigning to analyze the document.” He promised to “read carefully”, but a vote against seems guaranteed.