Source: Freepik Author: Redaction The new support for water efficiency in the Algarve, for companies in the tourism sector , was presented last March with the motto save water, protect the future , and the rules on how it will work are now known. This is support for Algarve companies in the tourism sector that can demonstrate investments to improve their water efficiency , for which support totalling ten million euros has been allocated. The aim is to incentivise and improve the management of the Algarve regions water reserves , avoiding future supply problems and leading to greater control over the drought situations reported in recent months. To implement these measures, a water efficiency recognition label called Save Water has been created , which will be awarded to companies with tourist resorts that show that they have adopted practices and measures to rationalise water use . To this end, a support line has been set up to encourage this type of company to join. Who can apply for support and what benefits can it offer? According to the decree published in the Diário da República last Thursday, 4 April, companies can apply for water efficiency support if they can prove that they are open for business in the tourism sector and are in good standing, with investments of more than 10,000 euros in water solutions . If eligible, these applications can receive 50 per cent of the eligible expenses, up to a maximum of 50,000 euros per company. Eligible projects are those with a CAE for tourism in rural tourism establishments, hotels or camping and caravanning sites, as well as projects whose aim is to realise investments with an eligible expenditure value of 10,000 euros or more . Projects with a maximum implementation period of 12 months or which have not been started by the time the application is submitted can also apply, as well as being aligned with the action plan for implementing the measures eligible for the Save Water label . Thus, selected companies can receive support that includes, among several other possibilities, the purchase of water-efficient devices and equipment, auditing or consultancy to implement measures to improve, monitor and control reuse systems or cover the costs of training or capacity building for employees with the aim of adopting good practices to reduce water consumption or cover expenses when the intervention of auditors or accountants is required to validate the expense of payment requests, up to a limit of 15 per cent of the amount invested and with a limit of 2,500 euros. Excluded from the benefits of the support are the costs of buying property or work done by the company for itself, as well as cash payments , and there is a limit of one application per company. How can you formalise your application? The application must be made formally on the Turismo de Portugal helpline or electronically, by sending the appropriate form available on the Turismo de Portugal website. Accompanying this form, you must also submit documents such as the authorisation for electronic consultation of the tax and social security situation, a tax return, the access code to the permanent certificate of commercial registration and proof of IBAN. Once the application has been submitted, Turismo de Portugal has 20 working days to analyse the applications submitted and, if they are accepted, an initial automatic advance will be made once the terms of acceptance have been validated. This advance will be equivalent to 50 per cent of the approved incentive, and the final payment will only be made on the basis of the declaration of expenditure on the eligible investment. Read also: Portuguese companies have record levels of financial autonomy
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction Foreign consumption during Easter week represented 26% of the total turnover recorded in Portugal, between 25 and 31 March 2024. This is the main conclusion of REDUNIQ Insights, REDUNIQ’s report, sent in a statement to SUPERCASA Notícias . It was the contribution of tourists from Spain (12%), the United Kingdom (12%), the United States (11%), Ireland (11%) and Germany (8%) that most boosted the performance of Portuguese businesses. Data that Tiago Oom, Chief Commercial Officer of UNICRE and official spokesperson of REDUNIQ Insights, considers very positive, and that reflect the growth curve of Portugal’s demand as a holiday destination, a trend that has been consolidated in recent years. At the same time, the expert also points out as a positive point the fact that this trend is crucial for the digitalization of business, since it is foreign consumers who are the first to bring a need for new forms of payment, scenario that results in a greater interest of traders in incorporating these new methods and responding to emerging consumer behaviors. When analyzing the regions where the weight of foreign consumption was more expressive, during Easter week, the regions of Madeira (47%), Faro (46%), Lisbon (27%) and Viana do Castelo (27%) stand out . Specifically in the hotel and tourism sector, the weight of foreign turnover stood at 78%, with the districts of Faro (86%), Madeira (86%), Lisbon (83%) and Porto (78%) having a demand equal to or higher than last year. In the catering sector, the weight of foreign consumption reached 36%, especially the regions of Faro and Madeira, which registered a value of 63% and 53%, respectively. National consumption also increased during the Easter weekend (from 29 to 31 March), compared to last year, registering a growth in turnover and the number of transactions of 12% and 10%, respectively. Indicators that justify the increase in total turnover of 8% over the Easter period of 2023. When analyzing the dates of higher consumption, the Portuguese acquirer concluded that on Thursday (March 28) there was a growth of 44% compared to the average of the remaining Thursdays in March . Regarding Good Friday (March 29), there was a 10% increase in turnover compared to Good Friday last year (April 7, 2023) and also a positive evolution compared to the average of the remaining Fridays of March this year (+22%). In a finer analysis, and making a comparison between the days before Easter and the average of the rest of March 2024, it is noteworthy a growth of 34% and 33%, respectively, for Friday and Saturday. Discover more topics like this in SUPERCASA Notícias
Source: Pexels Author: Redaction The wholesale electricity market has been suffering a decrease in its prices, relieving electricity traders who buy it directly from producers. This relief may mean that the year is lower prices compared to the last decade, although there are warnings from the sector about possible obstacles to the viability of renewable projects. In this sense, there is a need to balance the market , for which solutions such as batteries arise, a restructuring of the market or the attraction of large consumers. Pedro Amaral Jorge, president of APREN - Portuguese Renewable Energy Association, points out: the way the Iberian market works, whenever renewables can supply [the needs of] an hour, the price [of the hour] is zero, which happened even at the beginning of April, with a few hours close to marking negative values. On the producers side, it is a problem that we will have to solve (...) nobody can sell at zero something that costs money, points out the leader of APREN, stressing that this is a situation unsustainable from a financial point of view , because according to current price projections, as indicated by Pedro Amaral Jorge, no investor will want to invest . Thus, to allow the contracting of renewables, it will be necessary to design a system that compensates renewable plants and prevents prices from falling to zero. Related: Renewable energy community: Coimbra presents proposal
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction According to a study by the Collaborative Laboratory for Labour, Employment and Social Protection (CoLabor) published this Wednesday, there is a noticeable difference between real wages and productivity, especially in the tourism and real estate sectors. According to the data, real wages are growing at a slower rate than productivity . Frederico Cantante, researcher at CoLabor, professor at ISCTE and author of the study, points out: with regard to the relationship between wages and productivity, it can be seen that, since 2013, the average real earnings of workers have evolved below the average real productivity, with the exception of 2020, the year in which the Covid-19 pandemic had pronounced economic impacts. Thus, between 2013 and 2022, real wages increased by 10.6 per cent compared to 18.7 per cent for real productivity, with a difference of 8.1 per cent between each indicator. The period following the Great Recession was, above all, marked by a mismatch between the evolution of wages and productivity and, looking ahead to 2022, it is possible to conclude that average real earnings have fallen, mainly due to historic levels of inflation. Even so, in that year, real productivity grew. In the national labour market, it is the accommodation, catering and similar sectors that stand out with the biggest gaps, which are particularly acute . On the other hand, in these sectors, average real earnings rose by 19.4 per cent, while productivity stood at 54.7 per cent, a difference of 35.3 percentage points. In real estate there was also a gap between the evolution of wages and productivity, with real earnings rising by 8.6 per cent compared to 43.4 per cent for productivity , a difference of 34.8 percentage points. Agriculture, animal production, hunting, forestry and fishing, as well as wholesale and retail trade, also saw differences, in addition to the motor vehicle and motorbike repair sector, with gaps of 25.2 per cent and 24.1 per cent respectively, both higher than the national average. Manufacturing industries saw their gains advance by 15.6 per cent compared to 26.8 per cent in productivity, a difference of 11.2 percentage points. In the opposite direction, the extractive industries saw a higher growth in earnings than in productivity, with a difference of 3.9 per cent. Among the sectors where at least one of the indicators fell, transport and storage and the electricity, gas, steam, hot and cold water and air conditioning sector stand out. In the former, productivity fell while average earnings rose, and in the latter, both productivity and real average earnings fell. Also find out about these topics: Inflation in Portugal rose 2.3 per cent in March , above the EU average , Older companies have the highest turnover and Wages in the Eurozone slow growth
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction The Tax and Customs Authority will now include appliances, machines and other equipment designed to capture and utilise energy in the reduced VAT rate of 6%. This change includes not only the purchase of this type of equipment, but also its installation, repair and maintenance. By reducing the tax, an incentive is created for Portuguese families who dont yet have this type of appliance in their homes, facilitating access through a less significant investment. In the circular published by the Tax and Customs Authority, the reduced VAT rate covers the acquisition, supply and installation, maintenance and repair of appliances , machinery and other equipment intended exclusively or mainly for the capture and utilisation of solar, wind and geothermal energy and other alternative forms of energy. This includes, for example, solar, thermal or photovoltaic panels, wind turbines and heat pumps , which also include reversible air conditioners. On the subject of sustainability, we recommend New energy efficiency directive receives EP approval , Renewable energy community: Coimbra presents proposal and Energy certificates: how they work and their importance
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction The official figures available show that almost half a million IRS returns were filed on the first day of the filing deadline , which opened on Monday 1 April. By 1am yesterday, 2 April, just over 24 hours before the deadline for filing the annual IRS tax return, the Finance Portal had already registered 494,066 tax returns. Of these, 408,857 were from taxpayers who, in 2023, only collected income from dependent labour, i.e. category A, or from pensions, i.e. category H. The number of returns submitted by taxpayers with other types of income, according to the Finance Portal, was around 85,000. However, in either case, the figure includes the approximately 40,000 returns previously submitted this year, which relate to replacement returns or the first instalments of income from previous years, which are excluded from the current IRS campaign. Remember that the deadline for submitting your personal income tax return is 30 June , and you have three months to do so on the Finance Portal. By 31 July, as the law dictates, assessments must be completed and refunds paid by 31 August. Explore SUPERCASA Notícias and find more topics like this one
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction Unemployment figures released on Tuesday 2 April by the National Statistics Institute show a slight increase in the rate in February compared to the previous month, standing at 6.7%. This is an increase of 0.1 percentage points compared to January. On the other hand, the employment rate remained unchanged. The unemployment rate stood at 6.7 per cent, 0.1 percentage points higher than in the previous month, but 0.2 percentage points lower than in the same month of 2023 , according to INE in its statistical bulletin, and in total there were 359,400 people unemployed in Portugal in February. The employment rate, on the other hand, saw no rise or fall, remaining at 64.2 per cent. However, compared to February last year, there was an increase of 0.3 percentage points, and the labour force totalled 5.36 million people, which is 0.1 percentage points more than in January and 1.5% more than in 2023. February is therefore the month in which the highest figure in the series that began in 1998 for the labour force was recorded. With regard to the inactive population, the number also grew, by 0.1 per cent year-on-year and 0.8 per cent year-on-year, to 2.4 million people: the evolution of the inactive population was the result of the increase in the number of other inactive people, those who are neither looking for work nor available to work (9.3 thousand; 0.4 per cent), which exceeded the decreases seen in the other components of that population . It is also possible to conclude that the labour underutilisation rate stood at 11.5% in February, lower than in January and the same month of the previous year. Follow other topics that may interest you: New strategy for the homeless will include social integration or More than 5,000 people have stopped receiving unemployment benefit
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction This Tuesday, at a meeting of the Coimbra City Councils Executive, the proposal to create a renewable community through the concession of the roofs of various social housing estates in the municipality for the installation of 1,500 photovoltaic panels will be discussed. This installation is expected to save 47 per cent on energy costs. It will therefore be proposed that the roofs of buildings in the Ingote, Misericórdia, Fonte da Talha and Parque Nómada neighbourhoods, as well as those of the Algar and Pedrulha municipal buildings, be concessioned, benefiting 370 families. According to the proposal, the concession for the roofs will be for a period of 20 years , in order to guarantee immediate savings for the residents of the neighbourhoods covered, as well as for the consumers who will be part of the renewable energy community (CER), since it benefits anyone who lives within a two-kilometre radius of the installed panels. With this measure, families can save up to around 30,000 euros a year, municipal buildings 10,500 euros a year and the rest of the CER members up to 9,500 euros. Read more: New energy efficiency directive receives EP approval , How to maximise natural resources in construction
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction The government has approved the new National Strategy for the Inclusion of People Experiencing Homelessness 2025-2030 , which provides for the creation of alerts for risk situations and their prevention. According to the Council of Ministers, the new strategy introduces a set of measures, focusing on prevention and the creation of an integrated system for alerting people to risk situations , through personalised intervention with case managers at local level, as well as an increase in housing first solutions and shared flats. Born in the United States, the housing first project arrived in Portugal in 2009 and 90 per cent of the people covered by the initiative have never been homeless again. It is a project that integrates these individuals into society, placing them in housing that is generally individual, and in which they are monitored by technicians who teach them how to manage their home. Thus, the new strategy for homeless people will include this specialised support, reinforcing it with local support networks for people at risk or who have been homeless. Related: Housing crisis: more than 10,000 homeless people signposted in 2022
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction This Monday, 1 April, the IRS tax return for income earned in 2023 began to be submitted on the Finance Portal. The calculation is made on the basis of withholding tax, taking into account the income that is subject to this tax, and the deductions have changed as a result of the State Budget law for 2023, by updating the taxable income brackets. As a result, the annual accounts of individual taxpayers will be adjusted, which may or may not result in a reduction in the refund , applied to salaries from employment and pensions. According to the Ministry of Finance, the average time taken for a refund last year was 19.5 days and 16 days for the automatic IRS , with the refund being paid more quickly once the tax return has been submitted, although it is advised not to submit it in the first few days. The ideal is to avoid the first and last days of the deadline, as corrections may have to be made. National Association of Accountants warns that haste is a bad counsellor The deadline for submitting the IRS tax return isnt until 30 June and, with taxpayers having to spend three months submitting the return on the Finance Portal, i ts advisable not to rush to submit it in the first few days, as there may be corrections or system errors and failures that could compromise its correct validation. The National Association of Accountants (ANC) warns that haste is a bad counsellor, so taxpayers should instead make sure they have all the information they need to fill in the declaration properly . And they add: sometimes there are things that dont pay tax, but that need to be declared, emphasises Vítor Vicente, President of the ANC. Therefore, to avoid these constraints, taxpayers should check that the data on automatic expenses, health, education, uploaded to the system throughout the year and then validated or not, is correct . If they arent, they can still be validated, but not automatically, and all the amounts will have to be uploaded one by one. The ANCs advice is that its best to let a few days pass , and only then start the process: sometimes, in some income categories, everything isnt right from the start. If you wait a few days, you wont lose anything. Other current news: National public debt fell again in February , Rental market in Portugal grows by 4.5% and Social tariff for natural gas: 3.1% discount to be maintained
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction Several operators have been announcing increases in the prices of their tariffs since the beginning of the year , and in some cases this increase even exceeds 4%, which leaves several consumers dissatisfied. If you happen to be considering switching operators, Selectra, a specialist in energy and telecommunications tariffs, has developed a guide that tells you what to do to change operators and what kind of approach you should take to be able to negotiate the current conditions of your package, shared in a statement with SUPERCASA Notícias . Want to change service quickly? Checking if your loyalty period is still ongoing is the first thing you should do before starting any service exchange. If you have already exceeded this date, you can change operator at any time, however, if you are still within this limit, you will have to continue to fulfil that contract, with few exceptions, such as: in the event of unemployment, change of residence, emigration or death of the holder; The operator has not respected or changed the terms of the contract without 30 days notice. Once you have confirmed this situation, the second step is to compare the current market offers and figure out which one is right for you. You can carry out this process independently or rely on platforms that help you in this task, such as Selectra. That said, it is finally time to hire the new operator! The process itself is quite fast, being able to perform it by phone. However, if you want to keep the same phone number, you should ask for its portability, which should be requested when hiring again. If you want to find more information like this, explore SUPERCASA Notícias
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction Last year was economically difficult not only for the Portuguese but also for most Europeans. The rise in prices, especially in the food sector, and the fall in purchasing power have forced people to adjust their budgets , as evidenced by the results of the European Barometer carried out by Cetelem - a commercial brand of the BNP Paribas Personal Finance group, sent in a statement to the SUPERCASA Notícias newsroom. With 66% of Portuguese saying that food expenditure has increased, there has been a change in peoples consumption habits and behaviour. 30 per cent have had to limit or even forgo spending on food due to lack of financial means. 44 per cent also claim to have given up certain products, such as meat or fish, and to buy fewer environmentally friendly products (46 per cent) , such as organic products. A further 29 per cent said they had eaten out less. In this context, the Portuguese also indicate that they are paying more attention to their food budget (84 per cent) and avoiding food waste (90 per cent). When it comes to shopping, 91 per cent of those surveyed say they are increasingly taking advantage of promotions and special offers and opting to buy products from cheaper brands (83 per cent). More than half of Europeans have stopped buying meat or fish The results of the study cut across all the countries that took part in the survey. More than half of Europeans (55 per cent) have stopped buying meat or fish in order to control spending on food. In addition, 42 per cent of European households have been forced to eat out less. Also, 81 per cent of European respondents say that they are taking greater advantage of promotions and low prices in order to save money this year. This trend is reflected in the market share of food retailers. But this category also includes reducing waste as much as possible (83 per cent), sticking to a budget (77 per cent) and, of course, switching to low-cost and hard-discount brands (58 per cent). Giving up organic products (49 per cent) is also part of this strategy, as is giving up meat or fish (47 per cent) and eating out less (35 per cent). These are some of the ways Europeans have found to make ends meet. Since, as the same survey has already revealed, other increases were felt, particularly in energy bills (66 per cent) and transport (52 per cent) last year. Household and personal goods were also affected, with rates of 54 per cent for clothing and footwear, and 52 per cent for furniture, household appliances, television and smartphones. If youre interested in following more current affairs topics like this, go to SUPERCASA Notícias and explore the available content.
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