Manuel de Almeida / Lusa
Miranda Sarmento, Minister of Finance
The government wants to approve the end of the compulsory declaration of income exempt by decree-law, having no green light from Parliament. This unilateral change can be unconstitutional because it moves the tax values.
The government intends to approve a decree-law to eliminate the obligation to declare in IRS exempt incomesuch as meal subsidies and cost aids – but experts warn that the unilateral change of the executive may be unconstitutional, since it does not have the approval of the Assembly of the Republic.
The main concern is that the change affect the calculation of the minimum existencean exclusive competence of Parliament. The Ministry of Finance, however, ensures that the standard does not violate the law and that the IRS campaign calendar, scheduled to start in April, will not be affected, reveals the.
The legal issue arises because Article 70 of the IRS Code determines that all exempt income must be included In calculating the minimum of existence, without exception to number 7. The Government Decree-Law intends to exclude from the mandatory declaration of exceeding 500 euros relating to meal subsidies, cost aids or dismissal compensation.
“As is the law, meal allowance or cost aids are now counting on the determination of the minimum existence, that is, they will eat a slice of this portion that slaughter the income. In practice, we could have workers receiving the minimum wage that never paid IRS and that could become taxed. There is a change in incidence that can only be legislated by Parliament ”, exemplifies inspector Luís Leon.
Constitutionalist José Moreira da Silva also warns of the risk of change by decree intended by the government violate article 103 of the Constitutionsince it may impact the incidence of tax – a competence that is up to Parliament.
However, the executive rejects these risks. “The government considers that the amendment to number 7 of article 57 of the IRS Code does not affect the calculation of the minimum existencesince the references to this article contained in article 70 of the same Code, whose wording is prior to the introduction of that provision, are not intended to cover the income provided for in paragraph 7 of article 57 of the IRS Code ”, explained the Ministry of Finance to Eco.
Given the legal doubts, there is the possibility of the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Request preventive inspection of the constitutionality of the norm, which would suspend its effects. If the decree is promulgated, Parliament may request a revision of constitutionality with the support of at least 10 deputies within 30 days following its publication.
