In a question posed to the executive, a group of socialist deputies, of which Paulo Pisco is the first subscriber, states that the new rules on taxation, which began to be felt after 2014, led “many Portuguese people to complain about being forced to pay through tax several times on the same good”.

The new rules, resulting from the application of a European directive, changed an agreement that existed between Portugal and Switzerland “to avoid double taxation”, which had been signed in 1974.

The changes “brought a new context for Portuguese citizens residing in Switzerland, as there began to be an automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation not only between the two countries but between all OECD members, under the respective Convention on Assistance Mutual in Matters of Taxation”, says the PS.

This convention applies to taxes on income and wealth and its main objectives are to prevent the same asset from being taxed twice, as well as to prevent fraud and tax evasion. It also provides that, if situations arise in which taxpayers are double taxed, recourse may be made to the provisions established to mitigate or eliminate them.

“Many thousands of Portuguese emigrants in Switzerland have a property in Portugal, which has no economic profitability and is used only by themselves during the periods in which they are in Portugal. However, when declaring these properties in Switzerland, the Swiss tax authorities assume a rental income of 6%, even if no income is ever obtained from it through leasing”, indicate the socialists.

And they add: “The value of the property is also included in the calculation with a 20% increase for a tax deduction, based on an arbitrary determination that properties in Portugal are undervalued, meaning that we are facing a second tax imposition. If you add to this the payment of IMI to the Portuguese tax authorities, it is easy to understand that, on the same asset, there will be three incidences, both in terms of income tax and in terms of wealth tax”.

According to the PS, this “is one of the main reasons that has caused great discontent among the Portuguese community”.

In this question posed to the Portuguese Government, the PS wants to know whether the current executive is aware of the situation and how it can “intervene with the Swiss tax authorities to correct the situation”.