The president of the Liberal Initiative (IL) today considered the government of António Costa a “liar” because it could have lowered the VAT on energy “a few months ago” to a minimum rate of 6%, but did not.
“Regarding VAT [Imposto sobre Valor Acrescentado] energy, we’ll see what happens, but this week we learned that it could be lowered from April. So not only is this government incompetent, this government is not only incapable of growing the country, this government is lying. He lied for months that Brussels did not have permission to lower the VAT on energy. It was a lie,” said João Cotrim Figueiredo.
The leader of the IL stated that “it would not be clear if the VAT on energy was not reduced”, given that “the government should reduce it to the minimum rate”, as, “by the way, most countries that are in the same boat.”
In Povoa de Varzim, near Porto, where he visited the municipal market, the IL leader stressed that António Costa’s government is a “liar”, adding to the energy problem the episode of the unfulfilled appointment of former TVI information director Sergio Figueiredo, an adviser at the Ministry of Finance.
“It was also a lie that it was important for Sergio Figueiredo to have an adviser position in the Ministry of Finance. We also realized that this is not important because this position will not be filled. It becomes obvious that in addition to incompetence, this is a deceitful government,” Cotrim Figueiredo said.
For IL, “it’s time for the Portuguese to take a good look at their conscience to see if this is really the incompetent and deceitful government they want to see in power.”
As for family support measures, IL says it will wait to see how many “have a real practical impact.”
“We are all fed up with PS advertising,” João Cotrim told Figueiredo.
The IL president defended that “governments should not treat the people in terms of welfare and protectionism”, but rather should have a security system that does not allow people with great difficulty to get out of trouble.
“And this network exists. There is social security. The vision of well-being, according to which the state, in the face of any problem, must solve the problems of people, removes responsibility from people, ”he defended.
Regarding António Costa’s refusal to impose an emergency tax on companies profiting from inflation, Cotrim Figueiredo said he agreed with this position, because the opposite would be “a hidden way to increase the influence of the state.”
“That would be a form of intervention in the economy with which we do not agree. From the moment the government considers itself entitled to tax so-called extraordinary profits, it is obliged: to determine what is ordinary and what is extraordinary. This is a challenge that will fail miserably fail,” he said.
The Público newspaper reported on Friday that the measure was even requested by several Socialist Party deputies, but it is not part of the support package that will be presented by the government first to families and then to companies.
João Cotrim Figueiredo spoke to reporters after interacting with sellers and buyers at the Povoa de Varzim market, a visit on the Liberal Routes route, which he said aims to “go out to the field to get to know first hand what concerns people outside the election campaign and elections.” outside of hot political moments.
“Here I noticed that we are starting to see a decrease in the consumption power of people. Inflation is starting to take its toll,” he concluded.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
