Iniciativa Liberal demands Portuguese government implement 30-cent fuel tax cut

Demand for fiscal relief

Mariana Leitão, the leader of Iniciativa Liberal (IL), called on the Portuguese government on Saturday, 19 September 2026, to reduce the tax burden on citizens and private enterprises. Speaking to journalists during a party youth event in the Viseu district, she argued that public authorities consistently demand financial sacrifices from citizens while failing to implement proportional fiscal discipline within the state apparatus. Leitão stressed that the state must remove its hands from people's pockets, ensuring that income generated from regular work and private investment remains with the workers who earn it. She maintained that taxpayer funds should support personal well-being rather than state inefficiency, emphasizing that immediate fiscal measures are required to improve living conditions across the country.

The truth is that the state never makes the effort. We are always asking people to make the effort, people living worse, where is the state's effort?

Fuel tax reduction proposal

The central policy measure defended by Iniciativa Liberal involves a direct reduction in the tax on petroleum products (ISP). According to the party's resolution draft, the proposed mechanism provides a retail reduction of 30 cents per liter at fuel pumps nationwide. The measure targets two specific structural changes in fuel taxation: the complete elimination of double taxation and the alignment of Portugal's overall fuel tax burden with domestic purchasing power relative to European Union benchmarks. Leitão pointed out that the party has already completed its legislative duty by securing parliamentary approval for the resolution. She stressed that administrative execution now rests entirely with the government, which must enact the tax cut to shield families from rising energy and fuel expenses.

We have an approved proposal, we have already done our part, we managed to approve the proposal, now it depends on the government to implement it. We have already tried to resolve that part by providing immediate relief to families from rising fuel prices.

Youth academy and long-term planning

Leitão delivered these statements on the sidelines of the fourth edition of Just X'IL, the Liberal Youth Academy organized at a hotel in Termas de São Pedro do Sul. The event gathered approximately 100 participants for a weekend of debates and panel sessions featuring guest speakers focused on national political strategy. Leitão emphasized that political organizing must directly involve younger demographics to build coherent, long-term visions for national development. She warned against political leadership confined to immediate day-to-day decisions, insisting that effective governance requires planning horizons of 10 to 20 years to secure sustainable economic conditions for future generations.

We are having very interesting panels, with guests with a vision for the country. Politics is made for, and with, young people, because we always have to have a long-term vision. We cannot manage a country thinking about today or tomorrow, we have to think 10 or 20 years ahead. We have to think about the country we want to leave to these young people and the younger generations.