Albufeira Council helps promote local bullfighting

bullfightingAlbufeira Council continues to condone the posting of illegal posters advertising bullfighting events, according to the People, Animals and Nature party.

PAN states that, "the licence request for putting up bullfighting posters on the public highway in Albufeira was denied, but PAN in Albufeira has spotted posters for shows of this nature throughout the municipality, although no authorisation has been given for these to be posted."

Monchique fire - another Commission to be set up 'to move forward with solutions'

MonchiqueTownViewIt becomes increasingly clear that the Algarve is ill-prepared to cope with the aftermath of a serious event, such as the recent fire in Monchique.

A raft of groups, official and unofficial, have been trying to fill the yawning gaps left in the State’s relief provision. The government's various agencies has proved it has little impact on fire prevention and even less idea on what to do when serious, widespread fires damage areas both physically and economically.

Competition expert says EDP is still a monopoly - hence the high bills

edpA former president of the Competition Authority has said that when it comes to the electricity market, there’s no competition - EDP dominates the market and the prices charged to consumers.

Professor Abel Mateus had been called by the parliamentary committee of inquiry into energy revenues to give his opinion, "Reducing VAT on electricity is not a solution, it is only palliative," said the market expert.

Negative Euribor Law in Portugal

bop2The Negative Euribor Law was announced by the President of the Portuguese Republic and finally entered into force in July 2018, writes Casas do Barlavento.

This measure is intended to oblige banks to apply Euribor in full to mortgages on real estate. So, clients with housing loans are entitled to credit interest as long as the Euribor is negative, to be deducted when interest rates return to positive values.

Finns may have breathing space before pensions are taxed

6252Finnish residents in Portugal may have until 2022 before the tax treaty between the two countries is ended.

Around 10,000 people were known to be benefitting from the Non-habitual Residents (NHR) tax scheme as at the end of 2016 with estimates for the number at the end of 2017 rising to 27,000.

Left Bloc pushing for special tax to halt 'real estate speculation'

olhaoCollapseSMALLThe latest Left Bloc idea to disrupt the property market is to impose a special rate of income tax on people who buy properties, often spending time and risking money in doing them up, then selling them on for a profit “within a short space of time.”

Bloquistas are negotiating with the Government to create an IRS rate for "those who buy and sell in a short period of time with a lot of profit" in a move to end, what leader Catarina Martins calls, “real estate speculation.”

House prices in Portugal rose 16.4% in May

praiadaluzThe price of a home in Portugal increased 16.4% in May 2018, compared to May last year, according to the residential prices index issued today by Confidencial Imobiliário's tracking data.

These figures are taken from actual transaction prices obtained from the Residential Information System.

Vets in opposition to new animal slaughter rules

dogillPortugal’s vets’ association finally has declared that the new laws that were meant to make life safer and more secure for companion animals has had a variety of adverse effects.

The National Association of Municipal Veterinary Doctors warns that Councils now have a choice to make: cut back on the collection of stray animals or somehow relax the new rules on the slaughter of animals.