The decision of the PS to present a proposal in Parliament to eliminate the increase in IUC for vehicles prior to 2007 from the State Budget for 2024 did not surprise the president of the Automobile Club of Portugal (ACP), who considered the reversal of the measure to be expected.
“As expected, with elections scheduled, the PS was afraid and backed down, although I think they would have backed down due to popular revolt, but now with elections around the corner they were afraid, they cowardly”, said Carlos Barbosa in a statement.
According to the president of the ACP, “Fernando Medina continues to joke that it was only 25 euros, but it is an offense to all Portuguese. They knew they would be punished in the elections and as such they were afraid and backed down”.
It should be noted that the Automobile Club of Portugal had already noted that the increase in IUC would harm thousands of Portuguese who do not have the financial capacity to change cars, accusing the Government of increasing the IUC “in an unconstitutional and immoral manner, while exempting electric cars from taxes”.
In the amendment proposal presented by the PS parliamentary group, the socialists now argue that “the light vehicle is still in many cases the main means of transportation to work or to the nearest public transportation, especially outside the main cities of the country and in areas of medium and low density, where the offer of public transportation is limited and inadequate for daily mobility needs”.