The Kinder Egg Surprise of the Lisbon City Council’s fees and taxes

Tiago Caiado Guerreiro, Lawyer and Partner in the Tax and Social Security Department, mentions that on September 10, 2024, the Lisbon City Council presented a report to the Municipal Assembly indicating that Lisbon has at least 476 taxes and fees, collecting a total of around 50 million euros annually (around 118 thousand euros per tax). He comments that there is a huge bureaucratic burden associated with complying with these 476 fees and charges, which discourages investment, private initiative and creates obvious cases of serious inequality in situations that should be treated equally. Tiago Caiado Guerreiro notes that this is not just a problem for the Municipality of Lisbon, but for almost all municipalities in Portugal, and that in many of them the situation is much more serious, as they are not subject to the media scrutiny of the capital. He stresses that tackling this problem, simplifying, eliminating fees and prices and making compliance easier is fundamental for the productivity of municipalities, for the legal security of residents and companies, contributing to economic development and equality between the various agents. Finally, he welcomes the report carried out by CML as very positive.