Assembleia da República (Assembly of the Republic)
Law
Establishes the budget programme known as Investment and Employment Initiative, creating in this scope a tax aid scheme for investments made in 2009 (RFAI 2009), and introduces the first amendment to Law no. 64-A/2008 of 31 December (State Budget for 2009).
The Assembly of the Republic hereby decrees, pursuant to article 161 g) of the Constitution, as follows:
CHAPTER I
Investment and Employment Initiative
Article 1
Subject-matter
This law establishes the budget programme known as Investment and Employment Initiative, creating in this scope a tax aid scheme for investments made in 2009 (RFAI 2009), and introduces the first amendment to Law no. 64-A/2008 of 31 December.
Article 2
Investment and Employment Initiative
1 - The budget programme known as Investment and Employment Initiative, hereinafter referred to as IIE Programme, is hereby established.
2 - The IIE Programme aims to promote economic growth and employment, contributing towards reinforcing the modernization and competitiveness of the country, the qualification of Portuguese people, the energy independence and effectiveness, as well as the environment sustainability and the promotion of social cohesion.
Article 3
Measures and coordination of the IIE Programme
1 - The IIE Programme covers the following measures:
a) ''Modernization of schools'';
b) ''Promotion of renewable energies, energy efficiency and energy transmission networks'';
c) ''Modernization of the technological structure - Next Generation Broadband Networks'';
d) ''Special support to the economic activity, exports and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)'';
e) ''Support to employment and reinforcement of social protection''.
2 - The coordination of the IIE Programme shall be ensured by the Ministry of Finance and of Public Administration.
Article 4
Financing of the IIE Program
1 - The IIE Program shall be financed by appropriations entered in the State’s budget for 2009, on the national component, which shall be added to the provisional appropriation entered in chapter 60 of the Ministry of Finance and of Public Administration, of an overall amount of EUR 980 million, as well as by Community financing of an expected value of EUR 740 million.
2 - The State budget will transfer to the social security, for 2009, a reinforced amount of EUR 185.7 million, in order to cover the item of support to employment and reinforcement of social protection.
3 - Without prejudice to the preceding paragraphs, the IIE Program may also be financed by the balance of services.
CHAPTER II
Budget alterations inherent to the IIE Program
Article 5
Amendment to Law no. 64-A/2008, of 31 December
Articles 127, 131, 135, 139 and 142 of Law no. 64-A/2008, of 31 December, are hereby amended to read as follows:
«Article 127
[...]
1 - ...
2 - To the limit set out in the preceding paragraph shall be added any loans made by autonomous services and funds, up to a contractual amount equivalent to EUR 500 million, this limit not including amounts for credit restructuring or consolidation, or any interest capitalisation.
3 - ...
4 - ...
Article 131
[...]
1 - ...
2 - ...
a) As regards programmes co-financed by FEDER, by Community initiatives, and by the Cohesion Fund, EUR 1300 million;
b) ...
3 - ...
4 - ...
5 - ...
6 - ...
7 - ...
Article 135
[...]
1 - The maximum limit for the authorization of guarantees granted by the State in 2009 is set, in terms of annual net cash flows, in EUR 600 million.
2 - ...
3 - Responsibilities of the State resulting of commitments to grant, in 2009, guarantees of credit insurance, financial credits, suretyship insurance and investment insurance shall not exceed, in terms of annual net cash flows, the amount of EUR 2100 million.
4 - ...
5 - Without prejudice to the limit in paragraph 1, the investment projects deemed to be relevant by resolution of the Council of Ministers may benefit from State guarantees in 2009.
6 - The provision in the preceding paragraph prevails over any other legal provisions to the contrary.
Article 139
[...]
In order to meet financing needs resulting from the execution of the State Budget, including services and funds with administrative and financial autonomy, the Government is hereby authorized, pursuant to article 161 h) of the Constitution and to article 142 hereof, to increase the direct global net debt, up to the maximum amount of EUR 10 107,9 million.
Article 142
[...]
1 - ...
a) Amount of limits for the increase of the direct global net debt established pursuant to articles 139, 141 and 149;
b) ...
c) ...
2 - ...
3- ...»
Article 6
Amendment to maps of Law no. 64-A/2008, of 31 December
Amendments arising herefrom are contained in maps i to iv, x to xiv and xxi, in annex hereto, and constituting an integral part hereof, in substitution of maps referred to in article 1 of Law no. 64-A/2008, of 31 December.
Article 7
Budgetary transfers
1 - Without prejudice to article 7 of Law no. 64-A/2008, of 31 December, the Government is hereby authorized to perform the budgetary alterations and transfers contained in the table in annex hereto, which is an integral part hereof.
2 - The Government is also authorized to perform the budgetary alterations and transfers deemed to be necessary for an appropriate execution of the IIE Program, regardless of its nature and entities involved, organic and functional classifications, to be published pursuant to article 52 of Law no. 91/2001 of 20 August.
CHAPTER III
Tax measures inherent to the IIE Program
Article 8
Amendment to IRC Code (Corporate Income Tax Code)
Article 98 of the Código do Imposto sobre o Rendimento das Pessoas Colectivas (Corporate Income Tax Code), IRC Code for short, approved by Decree-Law no. 442-B/88, of 30 November, is hereby amended to read as follows:
«Article 98
[...]
1 - ...
2 - The amount of the special payment on account corresponds to 1% of the turnover related to the previous financial year, with a minimum limit of EUR 1000, and, if higher, to this amount shall be added 20% of the surplus, to a maximum amount of EUR 70 000.
3 - ...
4 - ...
5 - ...
6 - ...
7 - ...
8 - ...
9 - ...
10 - ...
11 - ...
12 - ...
Article 9
Amendment to the IVA Code (Value Added Tax Code)
Article 22 of the Código do Imposto sobre o Valor Acrescentado (Value Added Tax Code), IVA Code for short, approved by Decree-Law no. 394-B/84, of 26 December, is hereby amended to read as follows:
«Article 22
[...]
1 - ...
2 - ...
3 - ...
4 - ...
5 - ...
6 - Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, the taxpayer may apply for reimbursement before the end of a twelve month period, in the situation of termination of business activity or where it falls within the scope of paragraphs 3 and 4 of article 29, paragraph 1 of article 59 of paragraph 1 of article 61, insofar as the reimbursement amount is equal to or higher than EUR 25, as well as where the sum payable exceeds EUR 3000.
7 - ...
8 - ...
9 - ...
10 - ...
11 - ...
12 - ...
13 - ...
Article 10
Legislative authorization in the scope of VAT
1 - The Government is hereby authorized to amend the VAT Code in matters concerning the conditions governing liability to tax.
2 - The authorization referred to in the preceding paragraph has as purpose and extension the establishment of a rule on reverse charges concerning supply of goods or the provision of services performed in the scope of public contracts at an amount of EUR 5000 or higher, where the purchasers of such goods or services are the State or other public legal bodies.
3 - This legislative authorization must be used within 60 days from the approval by the European Council of an application for derogation for this purpose, submitted pursuant to article 395 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November on the Common System of Value Added Tax.
Article 11
Amendment to the Estatuto dos Benefícios Fiscais (Tax Relief Regulations)
Articles 19, 32 and 68 of the Estatuto dos Benefícios Fiscais (Tax Relief Regulations), approved by Decree-Law no. 215/89, of 1 July, are hereby amended to read as follows:
«Article 19
[...]
1 - ...
2 - ...
a) 'Young people', employees over 16 and below 35 years old, inclusively, considering the age of the worker on the date the contract of employment is concluded, except for young people below 23 who have not completed secondary education, and who are not following an education-training offer that allows the increase of their level of education or professional qualification to ensure the completion of that degree of educational attainment;
b) 'Long-term unemployed', workers available for employment, pursuant to Decree-Law no. 220/2006 of 3 November, who are unemployed and registered with job centres for more than 9 months, without prejudice to the conclusion of non-permanent contracts for periods below 6 months, with a joint duration not exceeding 12 months;
c) ...
d) ...
3 - ...
4 - ...
5 - ...
6 - ...
Article 32
[...]
1 - ...
2 - ...
3 - ...
4 - ...
5 - ...
6 – Provisions of paragraphs 1 to 3 also apply to companies having their seat or central administration in Portuguese territory, who were established under the laws of other EU Member State, and whose sole subject-matter is the management of company shareholding, provided that they meet other requirements to which companies subject to Decree-Law no. 495/88, of 30 December, are bound.
Article 68
[...]
1 - 50% of amounts for purchase of personal computers, including software, terminal equipment, as well as equipment related to next generation broadband equipment, up to a limit of EUR 250, are IRS deductible, to the amount of income tax which would be due.
2 - ...
3 - ...»
Article 12
Amendment to Law no. 40/2005, of 3 August
Article 4 of Law no. 40/2005, of 3 August, that establishes a tax incentive scheme to research and development enterprises, is hereby amended to read as follows:
«Article 4
[...]
1 - ...
a) Base rate - 32,5% of expenditure incurred in that period;
b) Incremental rate - 50% of the increase of expenditure incurred in that period, relatively to the simple arithmetic mean of the two previous financial years, to a limit of EUR 1 500 000.
2 - ...
3 - ...
4 - ...»
Article 13
Tax aid scheme for investments made in 2009
The tax aid scheme for investments made in 2009 (RFAI 2009), which is an integral part hereof, is hereby approved and contained in the following articles:
«Article 1
Subject-matter
A specific scheme of tax aid to investments made in 2009 in certain activity sectors is hereby established, and shall be known as tax aid scheme for investments made in 2009, hereinafter RFAI 2009 for short, in compliance with Commission Regulation (EC) no. 800/2008 of 6 August, declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the common market in application of articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty ('General block exemption Regulation').
Article 2
Scope of application and definitions
1 - The RFAI 2009 applies to IRC taxable persons whose activities focus mainly on:
a) Agriculture, forestry, agro-industrial, energy, tourism, and also extraction or transforming industry, except for the steel sector, the shipbuilding sector and the synthetic fibres sector, as defined in article 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) no. 800/2008 of 6 August;
b) Next generation broadband networks.
2 - For the purposes hereof, the following investments are deemed to be relevant insofar as they are intended for the economic operation of the company:
a) Investment in tangible fixed assets, purchased in new condition, except for:
i. Land, save where it is intended for the commercial operation of mining concessions, mineral and spring waters, quarries, clay or sand pits in mining projects;
ii. Construction, purchase, repair or extension of any facilities, save where these are factories or intended for administrative activities;
iii. Passenger or mixed-use motor vehicles;
iv. Furniture and comfort or decoration items, except for hotel equipment intended for tourism activities;
v. Social equipment, except that which the company is legally required to own;
vi. Other investment assets which are not directly and essentially associated to the productive activity pursued by the company;
b) Investments in intangible fixed assets, covering expenses with technology transfers, namely acquisition of patent rights, licenses, know-how or technical knowledge outside the scope of the patent.
3 - Tax aid provided for herein may benefit IRC taxable persons who satisfy all the following conditions:
a) Keeping regular accounting records, according to accounting standards and other legal provisions in force for the respective activity sector;
b) The taxable profit is not determined by indirect methods;
c) The goods concerned by the investment remain in the company and in the region for at least five years;
d) Not being liable to the State or to the Social Security for any contributions or taxes, or the payment of debs is duly ensured;
e) Not constituting firms in difficulty, for the purposes of the Communication from the Commission - Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty, published in the Official Journal C 244, of 1 October 2004;
f) Making relevant investment intended for job creation and its maintenance up to the end of the deduction period mentioned in paragraphs 2 and 3 of article 3.
4 - Where IRC taxable persons not included in the category of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises are concerned, as defined in annex i to Commission Regulation (EC) no. 800/2008 of 6 August, investment expenses referred to in paragraph 2 b) shall not exceed 50% of relevant investments.
5 - Investment made in 2009 shall mean all additions of tangible assets made during that financial year as well as additions of fixed assets under construction, with the nature of tangible assets and not concerning advances.
6 - For the purposes of the preceding paragraph, additions of tangible assets that result from transfers of assets under construction brought forward from earlier years shall not be deemed as additions of tangible assets, save where advances are concerned.
Article 3
Tax aid
1 - IRC taxable persons having their seat or fixed establishment in Portuguese territory, that focus mainly on commercial, industrial or agricultural activities covered by paragraph 1 of preceding article, and that make investments deemed to be relevant in 2009, shall be granted the following tax reliefs:
a) IRC deduction, by 25% of the said tax, of the following amounts, for investments made on regions eligible for support in the scope of regional aid:
i. 20% of the relevant investment, for investments up to EUR 5 000 000;
ii. 10% of the relevant investment, for investments exceeding EUR 5 000 000;
b) IMI (imposto municipal sobre imóveis - municipal property tax) exemption for a period not exceeding five years, regarding owned property that constitutes relevant investment;
c) IMT (imposto municipal sobre as transmissões onerosas de imóveis - municipal property transfer tax), regarding purchases of property that constitutes relevant investment;
d) Stamp duty exemption regarding purchases of property that constitutes relevant investment.
2 - The deduction referred to in point a) of the preceding paragraph shall be made in the tax notice for the tax period starting on 2009.
3 - Where the amount referred to in the preceding paragraph may not be fully deducted because it exceeds the amount of tax liability, it may be carried forward and used under the same conditions for up to four years.
4 - For the purposes of paragraph 1 b) and c), exemptions provided for therein are conditional upon acknowledgment, by the competent municipal assembly, of the region’s interest in the investment.
5 - The total amount of tax aid granted under the preceding paragraphs shall not exceed the amount that results from the application of maximum limits contained in article 7, that apply to the regional investment for the period between 2007 and 2013, in force in the region where the investment is made.
Article 4
Ancillary duties
1 - The deduction provided for in paragraph 1 c) of the preceding article shall be justified by a document attached to the tax documentation file referred to in article 121 of the IRC Code, breaking down the relevant investments, their respective amounts and other particulars deemed to be relevant.
2 - The tax documentation file on the deduction must also attach a file evidencing the calculation of the tax relief, as well as a document attesting that the condition referred to in paragraph 3 d) of article 2 has been met, for the month preceding the lodging of the regular declaration of income.
3 - The accounts of IRC taxable persons that benefit from the regime provided for herein must show the tax that ceases to be paid as a result of the deduction referred to in the preceding paragraph, by mentioning the corresponding amount in the annex to the balance sheet and to the profit and loss account for the financial year in which the deduction is made.
Article 5
Non-compliance
Where paragraph 3 c) of article 2 fails to be complied with, to the IRC related to the financial year in which the taxable person disposed of assets invested shall be added the tax that ceased to be paid as a result hereof, plus the related compensatory interest increased by 5 percentage points.
Article 6
Exclusive tax aid
Tax aid provided for herein shall not be added, for the same investment, to any other tax reliefs of the same nature provided for in other statutory instruments.
Article 7
Maximum limits that apply to regional aid to investment
1 - According to the national map of national regional aid for the period from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013, approved by the European Commission on 7 July 2007, maximum limits that apply to tax reliefs granted in the scope of the RFAI 2009 are as follows:
(see original document)
2 - Limits provided for in the preceding paragraph shall be increased by 10 percentage points for medium-sized enterprises and by 20 percentage points for small enterprises, as defined in Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, published in the Official Journal of the European Union L 124, of 20 May 2003.
3 - Where large investment projects are concerned, with eligible costs exceeding EUR 50 million, limits provided for in paragraph 1 are subject to the adjustment established in paragraph 67 of the Guidelines on national regional aid for 2007–2013, published in the Official Journal of the European Union C 54, of 4 March 2006.»
CHAPTER IV
Social Security
Article 14
Amendment to Law no. 64-A/2008, of 31 December, as regards social security
Article 56 of Law no. 64-A/2008, of 31 December, is hereby amended to read as follows:
«Article 56
[...]
1 - A share not exceeding 2 percentage points of the percentage corresponding to contributions of employed workers shall revert to the Social Security’s Financial Stabilisation Fund.
2 - ...»
Article 15
Budgetary changes in the scope of active employment policies and professional training
1 - The Government is hereby authorized to transfer sums between the functional ''Professional Training'' item and the functional ''Active employment policies'' item entered in map ix, ''Social Security costs according to functional classification'', to meet increased burdens arising from the budgetary programme known as Investment and Employment Initiative.
2 - Sums transferred to the ''Active employment policies'' item referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be deemed as revenue for the Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional, I.P. (Institute for Employment and Vocational Training).
Article 16
Transfers for active employment policies and professional training during 2009
1 – The following amounts of budgeted contributions in the scope of the social welfare system, in the Mainland, are deemed to constitute revenues of the following bodies:
a) EUR 627 299 711, concerning the Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional, I. P. (Institute for Employment and Vocational Training), intended for employment and professional training policies;
b) EUR 4 004 041, concerning the Instituto de Gestão do Fundo Social Europeu, I. P., (Institute for the Management of the European Social Fund), intended for employment and professional training policies;
c) EUR 26 693 605, concerning the Autoridade para as Condições do Trabalho (Working Conditions Authority), intended for the improvement of working conditions and to working hygiene, security and health policies;
d) EUR 8 008 081, concerning the Agência Nacional para a Qualificação, I.P (National Qualification Agency), intended for employment and professional training policies;
e) EUR 1 334 680, concerning the Direcção-Geral do Emprego e das Relações do Trabalho (Directorate-General for Employment and Labour Relations), intended for employment and professional training policies.
2 - The amounts of EUR 10 686 413 and EUR 12 770 204 are respectively deemed to constitute revenues of the Autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira, intended for employment and professional training policies.
CHAPTER V
Final and transitional provisions
Article 17
Amendment to Law no. 4/2009, of 29 January
Article 32 of Law no. 4/2009, of 29 January, that establishes social protection for public servants, is hereby amended to read as follows:
«Article 32
Entry into force and taking of effect
1 - Without prejudice to the following paragraphs, this law enters into force on the day following that of its publication.
2 - Except for article 19, chapter iii enters into force, for each of the circumstances referred to in article 13, on the date on which take effect the decree-laws governing them.
3 - This law shall apply until the entry into force of the regime of public service employment contract provided for in article 87 of Law no. 12-A/2008, of 27 February.»
Article 18
Entry into force and taking of effect
1 - This law enters into force on the day following that of its publication.
2 - Measures in chapter III hereof take effect as from 1 January 2009.
3 - Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, article 4 of Law no. 40/2005, of 3 August, as amended by this law, applies only to expenses made in the tax period starting on 1 January 2009.
Approved on 5 February 2009.
The President of the Assembly of the Republic, Jaime Gama.
Promulgated on 2 March 2009.
Let it be published.
The President of the Republic, Aníbal Cavaco Silva.
Counter-signed on 2 March 2009.
The Prime Minister, José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa.
ANNEX
Table of budgetary alterations and transfers
(Referred to in article 7, ''Budgetary transfers'')
Transfers related to chapter 50
(see original document)
