Latest news and stories about fiscal policy in Portugal for expats and residents.
The IMF Director states that Portugal should take advantage of its current fiscal space.
The 1.6 million euros paid as 'reparation' are not exempt from taxes. In some cases, the financial compensation could be cut to half of the communicated value.
In the midst of an energy crisis, with oil prices reacting to instability in the Middle East, Portugal has signed a joint letter with Spain, Germany, Italy, and Austria asking the European Commission for a new tax on energy company profits. The letter, dated April 3rd and addressed to Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, requests...
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro announced this Friday the approval, in the Council of Ministers, of a set of 'structural and strategic instruments for transformation and reform' focused on housing, with the goal of increasing supply and facilitating market access. Among the main measures is the so-called 'fiscal package', which provides for a...
By Carlos Rodrigues
The Minister of Finance was reacting to the announcement made this Thursday by the National Statistics Institute regarding a budget surplus equivalent to 0.7% of GDP in 2025.
The State continues to feed generously on fossil fuels, but maintains an appearance of ecological innocence by leaving electric vehicles out of this particular fiscal liturgy.
The Liberal Initiative (IL) supported the adventure in Iran, accused the left of collaborationism, and is now exploiting its predictable effects. War serves moral simplism; inflation serves fiscal populism. Just as Chega will take advantage of a migration crisis, should one occur. They support the cause and ride the consequence. There is no coherence or responsibility. There is political opportunism.
We cannot continue to view the Cultural Patronage Regime as a mere fiscal mechanism, but rather as a catalyst for greater diversification of funding sources.
The article discusses Portugal's Central Financial Plan (CFP), which advocates for strengthening financial resources through the implementation of new budgetary rules. The CFP emphasizes the need for enhanced fiscal discipline and strategic allocation of public funds to ensure economic stability and growth. It highlights ongoing efforts to reform budget management, improve transparency, and adapt to evolving economic challenges, aiming to reinforce Portugal's financial resilience and support sustainable development.
The article discusses the likelihood of Portugal needing a supplementary budget revision amid ongoing global uncertainties, particularly the Iran conflict. Economists and government officials agree that, despite rising oil and gas prices due to the war, a budget revision is unlikely at this time. The Portuguese government currently does not see the war as a trigger for such a measure, citing its significant fiscal flexibility, including the ability to manage funds and debt outside the standard budget constraints. Economists highlight that inflation benefits the state by increasing revenue without raising taxes, and the overall fiscal margin remains substantial. They emphasize that budget adjustments are more influenced by expenditure caps than by the deficit itself, and even in worst-case scenarios, the impact on Portugal’s fiscal balance appears manageable.
The article features Duarte Cordeiro, highlighting that the Portuguese government should return the entire fiscal gain from fuel price increases to consumers. Cordeiro argues that the rise in fuel prices has generated significant fiscal revenue, which the government ought to redistribute to mitigate the financial burden on citizens, especially amid economic challenges. The discussion underscores the importance of fiscal policy in balancing government revenue and public support during periods of rising fuel costs.
The recent budgetary analysis by my ISEG colleague Miguel St. Aubyn regarding storm Kristin is based on a correct intuition: fiscal policy must be countercyclical and the State must act in the face of exogenous shocks. The classical tradition of public finance theory — from Musgrave (1959) to Blanchard and Fischer — legitimises the use of policy...
The financial rating agency Fitch has maintained Portugal's debt rating at 'A', improving the outlook to positive, as announced today in a statement. Fitch indicated that the revision of the outlook reflects the agency's view that Portugal's public debt relative to GDP will continue to decline significantly over the forecast horizon (2026-2029), supported by prudent fiscal policy, with deficits remaining well below the median of peer groups. The agency still forecasts a deficit of 0.8% this year, noting that the deterioration mainly reflects expenses related to storms and reconstruction, a peak in expenses funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), and cuts in personal and corporate income taxes in the 2026 budget, alongside an increase in spending on salaries and pensions. Additionally, it noted that uncertainty regarding the scale of storm-related costs introduces an additional risk to the 2026 results. “We expect the deficit to decrease to 0.5% of GDP in 2027 as the temporary effects related to storms fade and PRR-funded expenses decrease,” it highlighted. Fitch also predicts that growth will slow to 1.8% in 2027 as PRR support diminishes. The agency estimates a budget surplus of around 0.4% of GDP in 2025. For Fitch, prudence in policies, budget performance “repeatedly exceeding expectations”, as well as “persistent current account surpluses have strengthened economic resilience and shock absorption capacity.” This is the third assessment of Portuguese sovereign debt this year. DBRS, in January, maintained Portugal's rating with a stable outlook, while S&P left the rating unchanged but improved the outlook from stable to positive.
The Secretary-General of the PS submitted a strategic motion for the March primaries, prioritising the economy, housing, the NHS, fiscal policy, and combating the far-right.
Fiscal standardisation, if applied in a one-size-fits-all way rather than on a case-by-case basis, can become a rhetorical exercise detached from practical consequences, economic impact and citizens' freedom of choice.
Data released on Thursday by Eurostat indicate that, in the third quarter of 2025, the seasonally adjusted general government deficit as a share of GDP stood at 3.2% in the euro area.
