A man working in an appliance store told CMTV that consumers are taking precautions and buying before prices rise even further.
Merchant believes VAT reduction 'should be permanent' because gas and electricity are essential goods
Thursday, 2 April 2026RSS
Context & Explainers
VAT is Value Added Tax (Imposto sobre o Valor Acrescentado), a consumption tax charged at each stage of production and sale; the standard mainland rate in Portugal is 23%. Parliamentary proposals to cut VAT on bottled gas from 23% to 6% would directly reduce consumer prices if approved.
Inflation measures how much general prices rise over time, usually reported year‑on‑year to compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Portugal’s National Institute of Statistics (INE) estimated January inflation at 1.9% year‑on‑year, down 0.3 percentage points from December, which affects rents, wages and everyday purchasing power for residents.
