By Andrea Hargraves 
The bomb campaign has already begun this week after the government’s announced payment measure of five euros per month has been implemented. But although “everyone” benefits, since ATMs, as developed by Sunrise two weeks ago, will not allow us to understand – neither the seller, nor the government, nor finances – where the consumer spends money, there are also exceptions. Our newspaper knows that anyone who pays cash or uses fleet cards is exempt from this measure. “The only accepted payment for the purpose of refunding is by debit or credit card, but for that you need access to the IVAucher platform, which will get the taxpayer’s bank account,” said one of the staff members. else. from supply.
A study conducted by the BA&N Research Unit that Nascer do SOL has access to, also acknowledged that an AUTOvoucher voucher risks being awarded to only one in ten Portuguese people. “The attachment of the Portuguese to the IVAucher / AUTOvoucher was not high. Proof of this are the results achieved with IVAucher, a program that has allowed the accumulation of value-added tax in sectors such as hotels, restaurants and culture, in which the state will return only 82 million euros instead of the 200 million initially expected. Used from October 1 to December 31 ».
He states that a large part of the explanation for the value being less than half of what was expected has to do with the fact that “the number of people who signed up for a program should now gain a new life, but it still leaves many Portuguese out. Data from the Ministry of Finance shows that IVAucher has more than a million Committed taxpayer.
A number that leads the study to correlate with this new scale. “Given this million committed taxpayers, the measure risks reaching just one in 10 Portuguese, a clearly understated number for a system that seeks to relieve the pressure on the budget felt by many families who need cars to travel. There will be many who do not register on the platform because of their age, which makes it difficult to register on an accessible platform on the Internet, and some because of simply not being able to register themselves. Others out of pure ignorance.”
And it does the math: taking into account the total number of taxpayers currently validated on the IVAucher platform and considering a five-euro refund per month for refueling – even if everything bought at gas stations is compensable, like chewing gum or tobacco. – For a period of five months, €25 of the car voucher, which is the maximum amount of support for each taxpayer, is translated into a state benefit for taxpayers of €25 million. That is only 18.8% of the maximum support provided.
It should be noted that according to the data of the Ministry of Finance, this deduction is expected to cost the state 133 million euros, in addition to 300 million euros to support public transport companies (taxi and buses) and a 20% increase in fuel expenditures for companies in the context of corporate income tax (tax on corporate income).
Over 700,000 Euros Refundable
According to data from João Leão’s office, 145 thousand refunds were processed in the first two days, resulting in the equivalent of 725,000 euros. At the time of the start-up, the government revealed that since November 1, the date when merchants were able to start adhering to this system, nearly two-thirds of gas stations on the mainland and autonomous regions were registered, “coverage is already guaranteed in the vast majority of municipalities.” This number is expected to continue to grow in the coming weeks.
According to the published list, major gas companies such as Alves Ribeiro, BP, Cepsa, Galp, Repsol and Shell have joined. But also low-cost service stations, such as Intermarché, Jumbo, E.Leclerc, Pingo Doce, Prio, Red Energia and Recheio.
All in all, in the municipality of Lisbon, at the moment, there were 272 adhesions, a number less than in Porto, which is about 383.54.
discontent
For the director general of the Portuguese Association of Distribution Companies (APED), the subsidy applied to consumption at gas stations is “another help” to mitigate fuel increases. “We have three partners who are also distributing fuel and have joined this initiative,” the official said, noting that this measure was “another help.” However, he left a caveat: “We always thought it could be more interesting, but that’s the effort the country has decided to make and we salute it for that,” said Gonzalo Lobo Xavier.
In an interview with i, the President of the Automobile Club of Portugal (ACP), Carlos Barbosa, lamented the government’s behavior regarding car taxes and noted that these represented 32% of the total. Regarding the 10 cents discount, he considered it a “poisoned candy.”
What is certain is that Portugal is among the countries in Europe with the highest fuel prices. According to data from the Energy Services Regulatory Authority, the prices charged are above average EU values, according to a report by the energy services regulator.
All in all, for simple 95 gasoline, the average tax-free selling price (PMV) in the 27 EU member states increased by 5.4 cents per liter from the second quarter to the third.