to retain its young people in Portugal, the government will take tax measures

Every year, some 40,000 young people aged 15 to 39 leave Portugal, according to the Emigration Observatory of the University Institute of Lisbon, attracted by a higher standard of living in the rest of Europe. Faced with this brain drain, the government wants to implement a progressive exemption from income tax for those under 35.

Today, almost a quarter of Portuguese people aged 15 to 39 live abroad. Maria is 19 years old. She is a student and at the moment she plans to leave Portugal once she graduates. “I'm considering emigrating out of Portugal, obviously, because a young person can't really live here with these prices. It's difficult to buy a house, for example,” she explains.

When we talk to her about the tax exemption for those under 35, which Prime Minister Luis Montenegero wants to pass in the 2025 budget by the end of October, Maria is enthusiastic. “Obviously, if this law is implemented, a lot of things will change. I love Portugal. I would really like to live here,” she concedes.

Like many other young people, Maria is attracted by the salaries of other European countries, but also by a higher standard of living. Ricardo is 20 years old. He makes the same observation: “I think it's good for young people, especially in Lisbon and Porto, where there are more people and there is more gentrification. Everything has increased.”

“I think it’s really good to help young people start their lives.”

Ricardo, 20 ans

at franceinfo

“That way, they don't think directly about leaving Portugal, Appuie Ricardobecause salaries and purchasing power are very low here compared to the rest of Europe.

The Portuguese government intends to offer a first year of professional activity without taxes. Young workers will then experience gradual taxation until reaching 75% in the 10th year. A tempting measure. But for Margarida, 32, the entire Portuguese population needs a helping hand. “This policy, like many others, can be discriminatory because it only considers agedenounces Margarida. We give opportunities and tax solutions to young people and we do not take into consideration all the others who have remained in the country or returned and who are also struggling to live well. He [le gouvernement] only interested in young people. Last June, Parliament voted to introduce an exemption from IMT (the municipal tax applied on property transfers) for the purchase of a first house to help young people invest in real estate in Portugal.

The new tax measure proposed by the government was adjusted by the socialists, who pushed for this tax reduction to be limited to middle incomes. Result: the measure will only concern those under 35 who receive an annual income of less than 28,000 euros, a threshold slightly higher than the Portuguese average salary. The initiative must still be discussed in Parliament at the end of October as part of the vote on the 2025 budget.