This data is contained in a video message from António Costa on the proposed State Budget for 2022 - a diploma that was approved by the extraordinary Council of Ministers held on Tuesday and which is delivered today by the Minister of Finance, Fernando Medina, at the Assembly of Republic.

“The war in Ukraine still requires new responses. The proposed State Budget makes it possible to finance the set of measures we have adopted to mitigate the increase in the prices of energy and agri-food goods and contain inflation”, maintains the leader of the executive in his message.

According to António Costa, “between tax cuts and subsidies, the budget proposal provides for more than 1,200 million euros of support to companies and families to face the crisis opened by the war in Ukraine”.

Concrete answers

“This is, therefore, a budget of concrete answers and that makes us move forward. A budget adjusted to the new situation, without ever deviating from the structural objectives and without abandoning the trajectory of responsible budgetary consolidation, with correct accounts”, defends the Prime Minister.

In his message, António Costa begins by noting that “five days after the Government takes office” he delivers the 2022 State Budget proposal to the Assembly of the Republic, “so that it can be discussed and approved as quickly as possible.”

“This budget maintains the priorities that we presented at the end of 2021, because we maintain the same strategic objectives and the same ambition for the country: to accelerate growth and strengthen social cohesion. It is a budget aimed at the middle class, centered on young people and investment-friendly and that fulfils all the commitments we have made”.

The prime minister then points out that his executive will “finally implement the extraordinary increase in pensions, with effect from January 1”.

Reduce taxes

“We are going to reduce taxes on the middle class, through the splitting of levels, and exempt from IRS another 170 thousand families, with lower incomes. We are going to triple the grants for young people who want to do masters and reduce taxes for those who start working life, reinforcing and expanding IRS for the young ”, he points out, alluding to some of the budgetary measures in the tax area that were promised in the electoral campaign for the January 30th legislative elections.

António Costa also highlights that the Budget will have measures to “increase the resources of the National Health Service (SNS)” and to “strengthen support for children with the start of general free day care centres”.

“We will start with children in the 1st year, and with the creation of the child guarantee, which will allow us to remove 120,000 children from extreme poverty”, he specifies.

Promoting business

António Costa also advocates that in the Government's budget proposal, the fiscal framework will be improved to “promote entrepreneurship and talent retention”.

“In addition to private investment, this budget also reinforces public investment. And it implements the transformational reforms and investments of the Recovery and Resilience Plan”, he concludes.