The Minister of Finance stated that the Portuguese public accounts should end the year with at least a zero balance, assuming no "cataclysm" occurs. This projection comes even after the implementation of measures that represent significant costs for the State Budget.
Among the measures weighing on the public accounts are the reduction of personal income tax and the extraordinary pension supplement. These two measures together represent a cost of 800 million euros for the Portuguese State.
The government official demonstrated confidence in the ability to balance the accounts, using the expression "unless some cataclysm" to describe the scenario in which the forecasts might not be met. This statement comes in the context of a year in which the Executive had to reconcile policies supporting families and pensioners with the need to meet budget targets.
