The president of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) parliamentary group, Hugo Soares, said that "the initiatives for the proposals [of tax reduction] to be able to go down to the specialty without a vote must come from the proposer himself" and "if the parties understand that they must request the descent without a vote to the commission, it is a good principle for us all to be able to dialogue in the specialty".

Parliament is debating, this Wednesday, the PSD/CDS-PP Government's proposal that changes IRS rates, with all opposition parties presenting their own initiatives, and the outcome of the votes is uncertain, taking into account the balance of power in the Assembly of the Republic.

To journalists, Hugo Soares spoke about the possibility of the proposals going down to the specialty without a vote, but set "conditions".

"The first, that the specialty work be swift, because there is an issue that fundamentally concerns us, which is lowering taxes for the middle class in Portugal", he began by saying, adding: "For that to happen, the debate in the specialty must be swift. And that after there is, or not, an understanding, the final texts that reach the plenary can be voted on in the initial vote, in the specialty and in the final global vote, in a single day".

"If that is the case, it seems very useful to me that this discussion can take place", he concluded, stating that the PSD is "talking to the other benches", and that this "is no secret or secrecy" and "is how it should be".

"If the proposals have to be voted on today, there is also no problem. There is a Government proposal that aims to lower taxes for the middle class, and then there are the other parties, who came in tow of the Government's proposal to the debate on lowering taxes, which I want to welcome", retorted Hugo Soares, asking that the dialogue between the parliamentary groups be "constructive and permanent, with one essential focus: lowering taxes on the middle class".

Hugo Soares did not say, however, whether the PSD will go ahead with a request for its proposal to go down to the specialty without a vote. The "essential" focus, on the other hand, always remains the same: "lowering taxes".

The Government's proposal, approved by the Council of Ministers at the end of last week, includes a reduction in rates between 0.25 and 3 percentage points up to the 8th income bracket, with the largest reductions (3 and 1.25 points) falling, respectively, on the 6th and 8th income brackets.

The solution displeased the PS, which accused the Government of focusing tax relief (accounted for at 348 million euros in 2024) on the highest incomes, leading the socialists to put forward an amendment proposal that focuses the most significant part of the relief on lower brackets.

After the intense debate generated around the way in which the reduction in IRS rates was presented by the Government, today's debate and vote on the executive's proposal promises to test the balance of political forces that emerged from the elections of 10 March.

Without a majority in parliament, the Government's proposal will have to gather the support of other party forces to be viable, and the president of Chega has already admitted that his party may vote against the executive's proposal and make the PS's viable, claiming that it is closer to his own.

The project presented by the PS, as well as the initiatives of the other opposition parties, also within the scope of IRS, will thus also be under debate in today's plenary session.

Hugo Soares does not comment on request to lift immunity

Questioned about the Public Prosecutor's Office's request to lift the immunity of three PSD deputies, within the scope of Operation Tutti-Frutti, Hugo Soares acknowledged that the investigation has been going on for many years" and "some of the gentlemen deputies had even requested their own constitution as defendants, which never happened".

"I do not know the contours, I do not know the imputations that are not by the media, I will have the opportunity to talk to the gentlemen deputies about this matter", he said, refusing to comment on the matter.

Read Also: PS defends that its project for tax relief is fairer (Portuguese version)