Portugal plans to end the non-habitual resident regime that offers lower tax rates during 10 years for some people who move to the country, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said.
(Bloomberg) — Portugal plans to end the non-habitual resident regime that offers lower tax rates during 10 years for some people who move to the country, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said.
The regime will end in 2024 and will remain in place for those who already benefit from it, Costa said in an interview with CNN Portugal on Monday evening.
Earlier this year, the government also approved a plan to end its golden visa program for foreign property buyers as it tries to address the lack of affordable housing in one of Western Europe’s poorest economies following a surge in home prices.
“It doesn’t make sense to continue to keep a tax level for non-habitual residents,” Costa said. That measure “once made sense. Keeping that measure for the future is extending a measure of tax injustice that isn’t justified, and is also a way of continuing to inflate the housing market. It shouldn’t be inflated, quite the opposite, as prices that are absolutely unsustainable have been reached.”
The finance ministry said in July that a total of 89,000 people have benefited from the non-habitual resident regime so far.
–With assistance from Henrique Almeida.
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