The parliamentary leader of PS, Eurico Brilhante Dias, accused Chega of helping the Government by presenting bills to reduce fuel VAT from 23% to 13% and apply zero VAT to essential food goods, which will only take effect in January. At a press conference at the PS national headquarters in Lisbon, Eurico Brilhante Dias argued that the Portuguese cannot hold out until January and need immediate help with fuels and the food basket.
PS and Chega have been exchanging accusations about who has presented the most significant initiatives to temporarily reduce VAT. Eurico Brilhante Dias returned to Chega's president, André Ventura, the accusation of lying, arguing that the bills have no impact on people's lives until 2027 due to the Constitution's brake clause, which prevents opposition parties from reducing revenues or increasing expenses after the approval of the Budget.
The parliamentary leader of PS described Chega's bills as "pure ineffective propaganda" and stated that PS will not yet close the voting direction on these proposals, scheduled for September 24. However, he did not exclude the possibility of PS approving changes to fuel VAT and food goods in the debate on the State Budget for 2027, if the PSD/CDS-PP Government does nothing by then.
Regarding the measures announced by the prime minister, such as the extraordinary supplement for pensioners and the IRS reduction, Eurico Brilhante Dias considered them "unfair to many Portuguese workers" who do not pay taxes due to very low wages and who will not be helped by any of these measures.
