Portugal’s government aims to ram a new austerity budget through parliament on Wednesday, imposing draconian tax increases in the teeth of swelling street protests.
The ruling centre-right coalition has the votes to push the budget through parliament even if the Socialist and extreme left opposition parties carry out a promise to gang up against it.
Citizens’ groups and public sector unions called a rally outside parliament for the afternoon to denounce the austerity squeeze, aimed at curbing the public deficit even during a biting recession.
A general strike is planned for November 14 in Portugal, coinciding with similar action in Spain, under the slogan ‘Against Exploitation and Impoverishment’.
But despite the howls of protest, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho is determined to cut the deficit to 4.5 per cent of gross domestic product next year from a target of 5.0 per cent this year.
His government aims to find 5.3 billion euros (US$6.9 billion) in savings, of which 80 per cent comes from tax rises. The average rate of income tax will rise from 9.8 per cent to 13.2 per cent.
