Tag Archives: portuguese government
There’s gold to be had in Guadiana…maybe
Apparently Guadiana might be the home of a minor gold rush in the future seeing as how a company has applied for prospecting right for gold and other precious metals along the banks of the Guadiana River.
The Portuguese Government announces rescue package
The Portuguese Government has recently announced a rescue package meant to solve the crippling crisis that Portugal’s real estate and construction sectors have been going through in the past couple of years.
This all-embracing programme will include fifty new measures designed to produce more financial aid, increase the potential to expand business at the international level, streamline the training of employees linked to the two sectors while at the same time boosting the rate of employments.
Suggested VAT rise for wine and culture may happen
We haven’t reported very much on the start-of-year financial news coming from the Algarve, but it’s about time to do so because today we’ll be talking about another potential VAT rise that will surely affect tourism to the region and that people need to be aware of.
It appears to tat the International Monetary Fund – IMF – sees some untapped financial potential for the Portuguese government to increase the VAT on goods and services like wine, processed foods and cultural events thus further widening the tax base. The current VAT for these is set at 13% and the IMF suggests that it can go up to 23%.
This assessment is part of the IMF country report which is part of the sixth evaluation of Portugal’s bailout programme.
A call to end the A22 toll from the Algarve tourism sector
Three major figures leading the Algarve tourism sector have recently called for the immediate suspicion of the very controversial toll charges on the A22 motorway – Via do Infante – one of them describing them as being a “gross economic, political and social error”.
Why has this not happened sooner? Well the protest was sparked by the decision of the Portuguese Government to not extend the exemption granted to residents beyond the end of September, even if by all accounts the tourism sector was on the whole expecting it.
