The Deputy Prime Minister, Paulo Portas, has stated that the government's ‘Golden Visa’ initiative may "surpass the €500 million investment mark in Portugal in 2014”, having brought in €306 million in 2013.
Portas says this will be “very positive for the revitalisation of the economy," but did not say how.
"In 2013, revenue for the national economy from Golden Visas was higher than expected, over €300 million and according to our evaluation of the programme's success it is sensible to predict that in 2014 will see sustained revenue to €500 million.”
Portas still sees this programme as a reflection of a more general economic resurgence and recovery when it is widely regarded as an artificial construct that brings little tax revenue to the county beyond stamp duty on the homes purchased. The vast majority of the €306 million of upper end house sales last year ended up in the pockets of individuals, many of whom are not resident in Portugal.
According to the Portas the Golden Visa programme’s contribution to the housing market in Portugal is not irrelevant, commenting that "some studies show a 40% growth in 2013 in the volume of transactions for high end homes in Portugal that has been due to the Golden Visa policy and the associated investment." Unsurprisingly, Portas did not reveal which study he was quoting from
The Golden Visa programme has attracted buyers from China, Russia, Brazil and Angola who are delighted to enter a regime where their worldwide income is not taxed for 5 years, the housing they buy can immediately be rented out while they take advantage of full shopping facilities in Europe’s Schengen Zone.
