Portuguese Parliament Approves 2024 Budget Plan in Final Vote

Joao Lima
·1 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Portugal’s parliament approved the majority Socialist government’s 2024 budget in a final vote on Wednesday, said Augusto Santos Silva, the assembly’s president.

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The budget had already been approved in an initial vote in October, before Prime Minister Antonio Costa resigned and a snap election was called.

Costa, who’s been premier since 2015, unexpectedly quit on Nov. 7 amid a probe into possible influence peddling in government. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa then called an early election for March 10, adding that the Socialist premier’s resignation will formally take effect in early December to allow lawmakers to approve the outgoing government’s 2024 budget. Costa, who won’t run again, had won reelection in January 2022 with an absolute majority in parliament.

The 2024 budget includes income tax cuts and targets a surplus of 0.2% of gross domestic product, smaller than the surplus projected for 2023. While the country’s economy is forecast to slow this year after bouncing back following the pandemic, the government plans to keep lowering the debt burden.

Portugal had the third-highest debt ratio in the euro area in 2022, and the European Commission projected earlier this month that it will be ranked sixth in 2023 as its debt-to-GDP ratio drops below the levels of France, Spain and Belgium.

See also: Portugal Targets 0.2% Budget Surplus in 2024, Sees Slower Growth

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