Portugal's 2027 Budget Reaches Parliament: Tax Cuts and Higher Pensions With a Small Surplus, Debt Below 85% of GDP
LISBON — Portugal's government submitted the draft State Budget for 2027 to parliament on Thursday afternoon, October 8, two days before the deadline, after approving it that morning in the Council of Ministers. Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento handed the document to the Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco. It is the third budget of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's government.
According to Bloomberg, the proposal combines additional tax cuts and higher pensions with a narrow fiscal surplus: growth of 2.3 percent is forecast for 2026 and 2.1 percent for 2027, with a surplus of about 0.1 percent of GDP in 2027. Miranda Sarmento told a Lisbon press conference that Portugal had grown above the European average in 2024, 2025 and 2026, with projections pointing the same way for 2027. He said reducing public debt must remain the government's 'permanent focus', with the debt ratio targeted to fall below 85 percent of GDP next year.
Housing is another centrepiece, with some €2 billion earmarked to expand affordable housing and reinforce the public housing stock. Parliament debates the bill in general terms on October 28, with the final overall vote set for November 24.
Montenegro leads a centre-right minority government, so passage again depends on the Socialist Party (PS). PS secretary-general José Luís Carneiro said the party intends to abstain in the general vote after the prime minister gave guarantees on four conditions: a constitutional revision with a central role for PS and PSD, protection of pensions, funding for post-Recovery-Plan investment, and support for storm-hit municipalities. The Communists and the Left Bloc will vote against; Chega has threatened to oppose unless demands including a lower retirement age are met. President António José Seguro said he expected a 'fruitful debate'.
Sources: Compiled from Euronews, Bloomberg and The Portugal Post coverage of the 2027 budget proposal.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 里斯本圣本托宫（共和国议会所在地），Jose Manuel 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0（Wikimedia Commons）
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