Last Thursday, the Council of Ministers approved a series of measures focused on youth, split between five major areas:
Youth income tax
Housing
Student accommodation
Extending scholarships to student-workers
Health/wellbeing
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro presented the measure at a press conference in Braga: "I have said it and I’ll say it again: we need Portuguese youths in Portugal so we can all have more of a future."
Among the measures approved, Luís Montenegro stressed the implementation of a ceiling income tax rate of 15%, which means "young people up to the age of 35 will pay a third of the income tax currently in force". The Prime Minister recalled that 15% is the maximum rate applicable to higher income (excluding the top income tax bracket, which is not covered under this measure) and that the Portuguese youths "will pay an average rate between 4.4% and 15%".
The measure will have an impact of around 1 billion euros, "an effort we will make to tell young people they can build their medium-term projects, with those entering the labour market now having ten, thirteen, fifteen years paying a third of what they pay today".
In terms of housing, Luís Montenegro noted exemption from paying property transfer tax and stamp duty when buying a first home, setting up a public guarantee facility of up to 15% of the amount of property prices for young people up to 35 years (with a cap buying price of 450 thousand euros), as well as amendments to the Porta 65 programme to ensure more access to youths to this type of rental assistance.
Regarding student accommodation, the Prime Minister informed that the Council of Ministers "took measures to boost student accommodation capacity" – more than seven hundred beds will be made available in the upcoming school year, and also approved broadening student support to students who need student accommodation.
A fourth line of intervention will be "extending scholarships to student-workers", a "measure to ensure fairness" whereas the fifth strategic point includes "strengthening resources in mental and physical health for Portuguese youths and particularly young students.
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