Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, 7 January, the minister stressed that the figure is still an estimate and not yet final. “The budgetary cost is difficult to calculate, as it depends on the number of properties placed on the market and their prices, but we estimate it to be between €200 and €300 million”, he said, in response to a question from PCP MP Alfredo Maia.

Until now, the Government has declined to provide estimates for the fiscal package, which was presented in December and is aimed at increasing the supply of housing on the market. Joaquim Miranda Sarmento was addressing the parliamentary Committee on Budget, Finance and Public Administration. The measures were scheduled to be debated in Parliament on Friday, 9 January.

During the hearing, the minister recalled that the package includes a reduction in personal income tax (IRS) to 10 percent of taxpayers earning up to €2,300, a more favourable capital gains tax regime for those who purchase homes to rent or who place properties for sale on the market, and a cut in VAT on construction from 23 percent to 6 percent.

The Government argues that these measures are designed to encourage more properties to enter the housing market, helping to ease supply constraints.

In December, Cláudia Reis Duarte, Secretary of State for Tax Affairs, described the package as “a very ambitious fiscal shock” while maintaining that it would have a “limited budgetary impact in 2026".