State Budget Law Proposal for 2022
This proposal is marked by the mandatory inclusion of property gains in IRS, setting a precedent in one of the structural elements of this tax. The fact that this obligation only applies to taxpayers covered by the last bracket diminishes the practical relevance of the measure, but creates complexity and, above all, disproportionate uncertainty for those who cannot accurately predict all the income that can be included and the respective bracket that applies to them. will fit. The proposal also intends to limit tax planning in this context, placing some obstacles to the sale of securities that were previously donated.
On a positive note, there is a greater scope of the “IRS Jovem”, and the return of the tax regime for former residents, which establishes important benefits and will cover, this time, those who return to Portugal having left by the end of 2019.
A proposal for legislative authorization was also included to make the very urgent changes to the taxation, in terms of IRS, of stock-options. Despite this excellent intention, it should be noted that the use of legislative authorizations has historically been disappointing, meaning that doubts are legitimate as to whether the change to the regime will effectively come into force during 2022. In addition to the above, the limited authorization if at start-ups, an option that is at least debatable, given that the inequity of the current taxation of stock-options is (unanimously) recognized and has an impact on all entities that intend to adopt this form of incentive.
For companies, the highlight goes to the end of the PEC, long demanded by businesspeople, and also to the reinforcement of the patent box and also for the new “Tax Incentive for Recovery”, which could be called “CFEI II light”. Of importance for the treasury, given the high amounts involved, the harmonization of deadlines for the delivery of VAT stands out, which will allow this delivery to be postponed by up to 10 days.
The various contributions of a sectoral profile remain without any substantial change, demonstrating, once again, that these measures that were said to be “extraordinary” are, after all, permanent. The only novelty in this matter concerns the “rebirth” of the special contribution for the conservation of forest resources, which had been established in 2020 but omitted in 2021, without ever being applied.
All of these measures, and many others, are analyzed in detail in our tax insight.