The tax burden on individuals was so high last year that it more than offset the cost of righting the government’s mistake over Christmas and holiday bonuses.
The austerity measures last year led to a deficit of 4.9% of Gross Domestic Product which is 1% lower than the target set by the Troika.
The Environmental Impact Assessment document for the new IKEA store in Loulé is to be available to the public in a consultation process running between 29 April and 27 May despite the fact that work already should have started.
This major shopping centre near the border with the Faro council area was categorised by the Government as a Project of National Interest and was approved by the former Loulé council last year, yet the public has not had a say in a development that some see as ruinous to the Algarve countryside, and others welcome as Portugal develops alongside other EU partners which see retail as king.
The Miró auction farce continues apace with a new injunction stopping the export of the artwork to London, and Parvalorem saying this latest move is ‘ridiculous.’
The Lisbon Administrative Court accepted today a third injunction to halt the export of 85 works by the Spanish artist Miró which have ended up in state hands after the collapse of BPN bank.
The European Commission has confirmed that as far as it is concerned the plan to close half of Portugal’s Finanças offices will be completed by the end of May, but the unions disagree and the Minister is undecided.
The Commission reported that "the plan to shut down 50 % of local Finanças services will be announced at the 12th review" of the adjustment programme. This will be the last review the Troika looks over Portugal’s financial performance and assesses its ability to repay the €72 billion borrowed in the bailout process.
A new restaurant in Ibiza is billing itself as the most expensive in the world.
SubliMotion is set to open in the Hard Rock Hotel in Ibiza this summer.
MEPs have voted in favour of a 50% reduction in the use of lightweight plastic bags by the year 2017.
By 2019 it aims to cut back by 80% compared to usage in 2010. At that time, there was the equivalent of 200 bags for each person living in the EU, according to research.
TAP says there is no risk that its Airbus A330 will be seized, but the Brazilian court’s decision stands – pay up or lose the aircraft
The dispute centres around two employees at the Portuguese Embassy in Brazilia who claimed in court that they had not been paid money owed to them, and the court agreed.
The Cornish people have been given minority status, affording them the same protections as other Celtic communities of Scots, Welsh and Irish.
European rules for the protection of national minorities encourage governments to take “appropriate measures” to protect minority groups from discrimination.
