Madeira will present proposal for constitutional review by December

O Government of Madeira (PSD/CDS-PP) will present a proposal for constitutional review in the Legislative Assembly by the end of December, said today the president, Miguel Albuquerque, considering that the initiative provides for the strengthening of the fiscal autonomy of the region.

“Fiscal autonomy is a goal we have,” he said, stressing that, in order to achieve this, the executive hopes to have the support of all deputies in the regional parliament, considering that the opposition benches are unanimous in defending the reduction of the tax burden in Madeira.

Miguel Albuquerque, also leader of the regional structure of the PSD, spoke in the Legislative Assembly, in the context of the monthly debate with the government, today subject to the theme “The international crisis, economic and social effects and consequences in the Autonomous Region of Madeira”.

Responding to the non-attached deputy Miguel Castro (ex-Enough), who questioned the executive about the measures he intends to implement to relieve the tax burden, Albuquerque said that the proposal for a constitutional review of the government points in this direction and therefore has the support of all benches to approve it.

Prior to the debate, the President of the Government of Madeira presented several measures taken by the regional executive to mitigate the impact of the global crisis, stressing the “periodic reductions of the ISP [Tax on Petroleum and Energy Products]” to ensure lower prices compared to the national average, which amounted to EUR 84 million between 2022 and 2025.

It also highlighted support for public passenger transport (15 cents per litre of diesel), taxi workers (135 euros per vehicle), humanitarian associations of Firefighters, the Portuguese Red Cross and Sanas Madeira (360 euros per heavy vehicle of protection and rescue in readiness) and private institutions of social solidarity and similar entities (support of 600 euros).

The opposition benches, however, argued that the tax reduction should be further, particularly at the level of Value Added Tax (VAT), considering the high cost of living and the inflation rate in Madeira, which is the highest in the country.

The JPP, the largest party of the regional opposition, with 11 Members of a total of 47 who form the Chamber, maintained that the executive uses the global crisis to increase tax revenue, and has already raised an additional EUR 33 million at the ISP and VAT level.

On the other hand, the PS recalled that a Madeiran worker earns on average less than 1,200 euros a year compared to the continent, while the price of houses has risen by more than 41% in the last decade, seeing that the housing crisis is more serious in the region due to government policies.

The bank of Aça stressed that the risk rate of poverty and social exclusion affects about 53,000 Madeirans, but that the Regional Government insists on not lowering taxes, while channeling money to golf courses and government trips.

The IL’s only deputy, Gonçalo Maia Camel, warned that the international crisis poses a risk to the tourism sector in Madeira and considered it necessary for the Regional Government to cut expenditure so that it is not always the same as “tightening the belt”.

During the debate, the President of the Regional Government reiterated several times that the executive will not reduce VAT in the region until the principle of national captainship has been established, argued that the application of the 30% differential at all tax rates, as provided for in the Regional Finance Act, would entail a loss of revenue of EUR 177 million.

Albuquerque stressed, on the other hand, that a 4% VAT rate is already applied on 96 essential services and goods in the region and that it will remain.

The PSD bench, which supports the Regional Government in coalition with the CDS-PP, supported all the positions defended by Miguel Albuquerque, while the only Christian Democrat, Sara Magdalena, questioned him about the end of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and its impact on housing, also alerting him to possible problems arising from the entry of immigrants into Madeira.

Albuquerque said that the executive will continue to stimulate the construction of affordable homes, with EUR 175 million invested in the PRR, of which EUR 45 million was supported by the region.

He also said that the region needs to import labour, especially for less qualified jobs, and that it is necessary to tighten the entry of immigrants and conditions worthy of integration.

“ We have a tradition of emigration, which implies having respect for these people ", said.