News Summary: Portugal mulls revising tax proposal

THE TAXMAN CALLS: Portugal's coalition government is preparing new income tax increases as the bailed-out country struggles to meet its debt-reduction targets at a time of deep recession.

BACKTRACKING: Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said he is ready to scrap an earlier, unpopular proposal to raise workers' social security contributions next year while cutting corporate taxes.

THE NEW PLAN: The center-right government is now mulling increases on income taxes and taxes on assets and capital gains, gambling that across-the-board increases on the public and private sectors will be more palatable.