Hydroelectric dams sale by EDP: A case study on taxation, governance and sustainable development

Abstract

The tax burden on citizens and businesses increases 1.1% between 2021 and 2022, reaching 36.4% of the GNP in 2022. During this period, revenue from direct taxes, particularly those levied on the income of individuals (IRS), and companies (IRC) grew, respectively, 12.8% and 59.6% (INE, 2023). About revenue from indirect taxes, especially those arising from value-added tax (IVA), real state transfers tax (IMT), municipal property tax (IMI) and stamp tax (Imposto de Selo), it increases by 18.1%, 26.3%, 0.8% and 6.6% respectively. Indeed, the property taxes - real estate transfer tax, municipal property tax and stamp tax - represented 4.5%, 4.4% and 5% of the 2022 total indirect taxes (INE, 2023). Portugal is the fifteenth country with the highest tax burden among OECD member countries (OECD, 2023).