The Secretary of State for Fiscal Affairs believes this Wednesday that the government has applied a possible fiscal margin in the recent social bailout program and warned of international uncertainty, especially in monetary policy.
António Mendonça Méndez spoke before the Standing Committee of the Assembly of the Republic at the end of the first round of debate on raising the cost of living, after hearing criticism from all opposition forces as part of the anti-inflation social measures package presented on Monday by Prime Minister António Costa.
“The government has mobilized possible budget margins to respond to a difficult time for families. This budget margin comes from the difference between our revenues and the additional commitments we have made,” defended the executive member.
Before opposition deputies, António Mendonça, Méndez sought to emphasize the idea of discretion in the actions of the executive, leaving the Portuguese with the guarantee that “the government will never give now what it might have to take tomorrow”.
António Mendonça Mendez highlighted measures such as additional benefits to be paid in October to pensioners and taxpayers of up to 2,700 euros gross per month.
“We are exercising the caution that is needed in times of uncertainty like the one we are having, and we also expect monetary policy to have an impact on various economies as well,” he warned.
In terms of fuel fiscal policy, António Mendonça Mendez calculated that it allows consumers to pay 28 cents less per liter of diesel fuel and 30 cents less per liter of gasoline.
“If the government measures had not been taken, the Portuguese would have paid another 16 euros for a 50-liter tank of gasoline and another 14 euros for a tank of 50 liters of diesel fuel. We react, but always strictly,” he added.
Secretary of State for Social Security Gabriel Bastos justified the payment of an additional allowance to pensioners in October so that they can respond to the effects of inflation.
“This is not some kind of trick, illusion or deceit, as is used in the opposition’s rhetoric. The government, announcing the renewal dates for next year, acts transparently and with due notice, hiding nothing,” he concluded.
Gabriel Bastos then sought to ensure that the option chosen by his supervisor “did not hurt current retirees in the slightest and reflected the sense of responsibility and prudence that everyone should have.”
In other words, according to the Minister of Social Security, if one decides to include the cost of a pension in the current “extraordinary and atypical peak of inflation, this will inevitably jeopardize the sustainability of a pension system that is based on the logic of intergenerational solidarity.”
“An assessment of the pension policy for 2024 should be made in due course based on more accurate factual information that will become known over the next year. The times we live in are characterized by great uncertainty,” he added.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
