Prime Minister to announce tax relief and pension supplements
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro is scheduled to address the nation tonight at 8:00 PM from São Bento. Following a Council of Ministers meeting, he is expected to detail new tax relief for income tax (Imposto sobre o Rendimento das Pessoas Singulares or IRS) brackets up to the sixth tier and provide extraordinary supplements for pensioners earning up to 1,611 euros. The package, estimated at 800 million euros, also includes support for sectors affected by rising fuel prices.
Update: Government confirms tax relief and sector support measures
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro confirmed that the government has approved a proposal to reduce IRS rates for the first through sixth brackets, with changes retroactive to January 2026. The package also includes 38 million euros in support for sectors heavily impacted by fuel costs, such as taxi services, firefighters, and the social sector, with relief expected to appear in salary withholding tax starting in November.
- Prime Minister, Portugal: 2024 - Present
- Party: Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Luís Filipe Montenegro Cardoso de Morais Esteves (born February 16, 1973, in Porto) is a Portuguese lawyer and center‑right politician who has served as Prime Minister of Portugal since April 2, 2024. A long‑time member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), he is the leading figure of the post‑Troika generation of Portuguese conservatives. Montenegro was elected to the Assembly of the Republic in 2002 for the Aveiro district and remained an MP for 16 years, becoming PSD parliamentary leader from 2011 to 2017 during the bailout and austerity period under Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho. He was a prominent defender of strict austerity measures, arguing in 2014 that “the life of the people is no better, but the life of the country is a lot better,” a phrase that has followed his public image since. After an unsuccessful leadership bid against Rui Rio in 2020, Montenegro won the PSD leadership in 2022. He then forged the centre‑right Democratic Alliance (PSD–CDS‑PP and allies), which won a plurality of seats in the 2024 legislative election. Refusing to partner with the far‑right Chega, which he has called “often xenophobic, racist, populist and excessively demagogic,” he formed a minority government as head of the XXIV Constitutional Government on April 2, 2024. His first government fell in March 2025 after a no‑confidence vote linked to a conflict‑of‑interest affair, but fresh elections saw the Democratic Alliance increase its seat share, allowing Montenegro to return as prime minister leading the XXV Constitutional Government. His importance to Portugal lies in attempting to re‑center the traditional centre‑right after the crisis years, defending liberal‑conservative economics and EU alignment while drawing a sharp line against formal cooperation with the radical right, thus shaping how Portuguese democracy manages its new multi‑party era.
