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Portugal to raise taxes in state budget for 2016: lawmakers

Xinhua, February 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

Portugual's lawmakers said on Wednesday that the Socialist government will increase taxes on oil products, automobiles and the banking sector in the delayed state budget for 2016.

With these measures, the Socialist government led by Prime Minister Antonio Costa is expected to meet European Commission's requirement of further reduction of the deficit.

Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs Pedro Nuno Santos said on Wednesday that the negotiations with Brussels "are going well."

Vice President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis asked Portugal for additional measures on Tuesday, despite recognizing that progress had been made in the negotiations with the Portuguese government, stressing that these efforts were not enough to reach an agreement.

"Some additional measures are still needed to ensure that Portugal isn't in severe risk of default" with the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact, namely "additional fiscal measures in order to bring the budget plan draft closer to the Council recommendation," said Dombrovskis.

Portuguese Minister of Finance Mario Centeno presented Wednesday the draft state budget for 2016 to the political parties represented in Parliament. The government will unveil its draft state budget on Friday. Endit