Helena Borges is taking the top job at the Tax and Customs Authority, Finanças to you and me, in a move that recognises her problem solving ability as much as her technical grasp of the multi-faceted department, its technology and internecine rivalries.
Certain problem areas need dealing with urgently including the damage done by the exposure of a VIP taxpayers’ list, the e-billing system that fails to take into account those sole traders without computer access or skills (35% of the population still has no access to the Internet), an internal power struggle that has affected the smooth running of the most important department of government, and collecting taxes from those who claim poverty, the list is a long one.
Helena Borges takes over from António Afonso whose career ended as the VIP taxpayers list became fact, not fiction as calls by the Finance Inspectorate General to prosecute him increase in volume.
The departmental income is more than €40 billion a year from various taxes, about 60% of government revenue, and Borges will oversee 11,000 staff.
The main problem for Borges, which will needs solving if she wants to shine, is the lack of transparency in a huge department that acts in a random, often interpretative manner, keeping secrets and hiding legislative facts from the taxpayer to thwart, bamboozle and belittle.
The unwritten code of conduct between the public and the tax authority was irrevocably damaged by the Passsos Coelho administration. It will take a lot of work on both sides to repair the situation but there are several areas of the tax department's work that can be improved for some easy wins.
Over at the discredited Ministry of Internal Affairs, an announcement that Luísa Maia Gonçalves is to take over at the Foreigners and Borders Service was announced yesterday. She replaces António Beça Pereira who offered his resignation, wishing to return to the Court of Appeal of Guimarães, where he was a judge.
António Pereira Beça took over as director of the SEF a year ago, replacing Manuel Jarmela Palos who was arrested and held in jail during inquiries into abuses of the Golden Visa system.
Gonçalves is an insider and a popular choice amongst staff whom the SEF union says "Is the right choice this time," and pointing out her “recognised dedication and integrity,” and a person who will bring a breath of fresh air after “awful times.”
