Portuguese Chamber of Commerce Property Conference 2012 | EVENT
Left to right : Francisco Palma , William Cunningham , Jim Cook , Jorge de Abreu , Francisco Barata Salgueiro , Geoff Hadwick
Dr Diogo Gaspar Ferreira
Left to right : Charles Weston Baker , Cecilia Meireles , Dr Jorge de Abreu , Diogo Gaspar Ferreira
William Cunningham
During question time , she was taken to task about when the government would make the tax system more appealing to overseas property investors , replying “ the main thing we have to address now is the simplicity and stability of our tax system . This is our main goal until the adjustment and economic plan is ended . After that , we will be able to look at making it more competitive ”.
Diogo Ferreira , who was the second speaker to address the delegates , rattled a few cages . He discussed the housing market and in particular , the second home market , in Europe . He passionately called for more action from the government to improve Portugal ’ s international image as a trustworthy country , to provide new fiscal incentives to attract investors and residents to the country and to promote the country more vociferously , by producing professional marketing material to promote Portugal as the best European destination to buy a second home .
“ We need an aggressive fiscal policy and to concentrate on quality second homes over the next ten years ” he said . “ I believe Portugal will occupy a more important role in the second home property market in the coming decade . My projections show that Portugal ’ s market share will improve by 10 %. Our goal is to sell some 11,600 new houses per year to the overseas market , which will bring in annual revenue of around 1.7 billion euros ”.
William Cunningham also had strong words about the tax system with regard to residential tourism , explaining that Portugal ’ s Non-Habitual Resident Regime , introduced in September 2009 , should have allowed newly arrived individuals to enjoy several tax benefits . However , the regime has been badly operated with too much bureaucracy to be of much help . He also called for the Government to avoid sending conflicting tax message to investors and tourists . “ Its tax policies need to be aligned with others to avoid cancelling out other favourable initiatives ” he says .
Overall , the outlook was optimistic and will be even more so when the Portuguese Government is able to put in place tax conditions and incentives to encourage further property investment in the country . The Chamber were encouraged to see many new attendees at this years conference , during the dinner that followed it was quite obvious this event will continue to inspire and encourage senior Portuguese delegates to attend . As the only voice representing Portugal in the UK , this Chamber continues to grow from strength to strength .
For more details please contact Christina Hippisley , the General Manager on c . hippisley @ portuguese-chamber . org . uk
| www . portugal-life . net | Summer 2012 | 61