The Portuguese government has been trying to keep talented locals from leaving and entice young foreigners to come and work here at the same time, and they have an interesting proposal in the works for those who can afford to live for under roughly €2300 euros a month:
“Under the government’s plan [presented to parliament as part of the budget], those aged 35 and under who earn up to €28,000 would pay nothing at all in tax for the first year,” BBC writes.
“The measures would also apply to foreigners,” according to the BBC.
It’s unclear whether the measure would work to keep the Portuguese youth from leaving: €2,300 a month is roughly two-and-a-half times the minimum wage in Portugal, and the low wages have been one of the main reasons they’ve been heading elsewhere.
The other reason, of course, is the high housing cost: while there are still people finding a one- or even two-bedroom apartments for under €1,000 on the outskirts of Lisbon — certainly not in the city proper — the average rent in Metropolitan Lisbon was €22.1 per square meter as of September 2024 (up from €8.4 in 2015), according to Idealista. An ok-sized studio or tiny one-bedroom here is typically around 35 to 50 sq m (so €774 to €1,105), and a decent two-bedroom is normally 75 sq m or more (so around €1,670 and up).
The vote on the budget takes place Oct. 31.
