These proposals were announced by the parliamentary leader of the Left Bloc, Fabian Figueiredo, at a press conference where he accused the Government of preparing "a trick" at the level of the IRS with the diploma that will be debated in parliament on Wednesday and that was approved on Friday in the Council of Ministers.

"Any taxpayer who pays IRS will have an additional discount of 582 euros", declared Fabian Figueiredo.

The parliamentary leader of the Left Bloc then observed that the value of the specific deduction "has not been updated since 2010".

"With the increase in inflation, especially in recent years, this value should be updated. It is a much fairer way to change the IRS than the Government's", he argued.

The president of the BE bench proposed that all holders of home purchase contracts should have the right to deduct interest expenses from their IRS, even if their respective purchase contracts are after 2011. And, on the other hand, the interest expense should be updated by 300 euros, taking into account the increase in inflation in recent years, and could thus reach 380 euros.

According to the law in force, contracts whose interest can be deducted from the IRS must be concluded by December 2011. And since the 2012 Budget, there has been no update of the values with interest that can be deducted, nor has there been any opening to extend this measure to new housing loans.

"We are witnessing an increase in interest rates, a phenomenon pressured by the European Central Bank, but also by the fact that banks prioritize millionaire profits to the detriment of a more responsible policy", he argued.

Fabian Figueiredo also considered that the socialist absolute majority Government followed a "wrong policy" in terms of interest charges, since it only transferred them to the future.

Regarding the Government's diploma that will be debated in parliament on Wednesday, the president of the Left Bloc bench stated that "the country found out that it is a trick and that it has a very reduced impact on ordinary people, since a salary of one thousand euros will have an increase in income of 1.8 euros net per month, that is, just over two coffees".

"The Prime Minister [Luís Montenegro] even said that pensioners up to 550 euros would have an improvement in their IRS, but anyone who knows a little about taxes knows that these pensions no longer pay IRS", he added.

[News updated at 7:32 pm]

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