In an open letter addressed to the Minister of Environment and Climate Action, João Pedro Matos Fernandes, MCTM accuses the governor of “unduly exempting EDP from the payment of 110 million euros in stamp duty”.
MCTM spokesman Paulo Meirinhos was outraged by this situation which he said will harm Terra de Miranda in particular, and Trás-os-Montes in general.
“How is it possible that one of the biggest companies of the century does not pay taxes, at the same time as every ordinary Portuguese, however poor, pays taxes for what he earns, buys and owns, and often for what he doesn’t have, ”he accused, talking to Lusa.
The movement further invokes “that it is no longer just a loss for Terra de Miranda, but for the whole country and for all Portuguese taxpayers”.
“The Minister of the Environment and the government had prior knowledge of the company because the law requires it, since it deals with the sale of natural resources. For this reason, the Movement says the government should have forced EDP not to use the tax planning plans that led to the non-payment of the tax. [de selo]», Declares the movement in the same open letter.
In the opinion of the members of this movement whose “non-partisan” character is, the Minister of the Environment and Climate Action is still in time to collect the taxes due, “triggering the anti-abuse clause provided for this type of business ”.
The movement also wonders why the government allowed the sale of the dams without any compensation for the state budget.
“Knowing that the tax planning subterfuge used by EDP would make it possible to avoid the payment of the taxes due, he asks if the government has not conditioned the authorization of sale on the payment of the tax due, namely more than 110 million d ‘euros of EDP stamp duty,’ asks the MCTM in this open letter.
In November, the Ministry of the Environment and Action A Climática announced that it had issued a “favorable opinion from the Portuguese Environment Agency to the transmission of these titles for the use of water resources and, consequently, EDP can proceed with the sale of the infrastructure in French Engie »
The stake is the sale of the hydropower plants of Miranda, Bemposta, Picote, Baixo Sabor, Feiticeiro and Foz Tua.
In recent weeks, both the Left Bloc and the Social Democratic Party (PSD) have demanded an urgent parliamentary hearing of Minister Matos Fernandes to clarify the main lines of this operation.
Concerned, according to the PSD, the “lack of transparency business” of the company announced, about a year ago, and concluded on December 17, the sale of six hydroelectric plants located in the Douro, Sabor and Tua rivers by EDP -Energias de Portugal, SA to a consortium of French companies, led by Engie.
On December 14, the government created a working group to analyze the impact of the sale of six EDP dams to Engie, which includes representatives from various areas of government agencies and the 10 municipalities covered by the operation.
According to a note from the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Action ”, a working group was created with representatives of the government and 10 municipalities concerned for the transmission of titles for the use of water resources linked to hydroelectric explorations of Miranda, Bemposta, Picote, Baixo Sabor, Feiticeiro and Foz Tua “.
The task of the working group will be to analyze and deepen the impacts of the commercialization of the six dams located in the Douro river basin, as well as to determine “the real benefits from which these municipalities can benefit” and to list “the measures possible which allow, in the best way, to achieve the rule accepted in the State finance law for 2021, ”stressed the Ministry of the Environment.
Already in November, the Intercommunal Community of Trás-os-Montes announced that it would request a meeting with the Prime Minister to assess the counterparts for the sale to EDP of the six dams.
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