Property cost to increase in Portugal
Property? It's location, location, location, as any real estate vendor -- and the Portuguese taxman -- will tell you. Under fiercely-contested fiscal changes which became law on Monday, people buying a home in Portugal that has an unspoilt sea view or faces the sun may be hit by a 20-percent increase in property tax. "It's based on social justice," says party spokesman Joao Galamba. "People object when someone living in a basement and someone living on the top floor with a great view each have to pay exactly the same tax." The initial plan was to impose the increase on property of any value. But an amendment devised by Communist MP Paulo Sa means that it will only affect homes with a so-called fiscal value of 250,000 euros ($260,000) -- a tiny fraction of the property market, he says. "We are totally against this measure -- it's based on subjective criteria. The view from a home depends on the individual's perception," Ernesto Pinto, a tax specialist at the consumers' association DECO, told.
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