Portugal loses 10% in corporate income tax (IRC) to tax havens
Profits transferred from multinationals operating in Portugal to lower taxation territories rose from €2.6 billion in 2015 to €3.4 billion in 2019.
A study published through the European Tax Observatory, and cited by Jornal de Negócios, shows that in 2019, Portugal lost around €630 million in corporate income tax, equivalent to about 10% of the total revenue collected with this tax that year. At issue is that some companies have transferred their profits to countries considered tax havens.
Profits transferred from multinationals operating in Portugal to lower taxation territories rose from €2.6 billion in 2015 to €3.4 billion in 2019. With this, multinationals have managed to avoid paying around €630 million in tax in Portugal, claims the said study by economists Ludvig Wier and Gabriel Zucman.
Compared to 2015, lost corporate income tax revenue increased slightly. In that year, unpaid taxes accounted for 9%. But it was in 2016 that Portugal lost the most – 11% of CIT revenue. Compared to other OECD countries, Portugal is on average, says Negócios.
