Borrowing More Money?, Student Accommodation, Another Full House, & other snippets
TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Tobi … Quinta do Lorde, probably one of the biggest mistakes this island has ever seen. What an eyesore!
Front Page News : source : Diário de Notícias 30/3/2009
Main Headline : ‘Regional Government Insist On Making A Compliant Against Sócrates’ – The region continues to defend it’s position that it has a legitimate right to borrow more money from the banks, and is preparing itself to move outside of the restrictions imposed from Lisbon. It is compiling a ‘dossier’ to support its claim that the restrictions are illegal, and that they impede the right to obtain finance outside of the regional budget, as set by the republic. The article goes on to say that the accounts of Madeira are in better shape than in Portugal as a whole, and as such debts incurred now will place a lesser burden on the taxpayer than the restrictions imposed by the state. The case presented will show that Madeira on it’s own in fact complies with the debt restrictions set by the European Commission, whilst Portugal does not. In figures, Madeira’s debt represents 14.7% of its GDP (Gross Domestic Product), in Portugal debt represents 71.3% of GDP. You would have thought this was more about the constitution that allows Madeira autonomy, rather than facts or figures, but the complete article actually shows Madeira in better financial shape than I would have expected.
The residents of Boaventura fear isolation with the building of a new ‘via expresso’ road that will take visitors away from the village, and affect local trade. With just over 1,500 inhabitants, emigration is the best solution for those seeking a better life, and for those that stay there to work, there are just two options: agriculture or civil construction.
‘Lodgings For Students Scald – The prices charged in Funchal for student accommodation are comparable to those in Lisbon, with just Porto charging higher rates in Portugal’. Funchal is among the Portuguese cities where students pay more for accommodation, according to those who come out to study at the University of Madeira (UMa), and that as they do not have access to university accommodation, are forced to rent a space to live. The price of a room can vary between €100 and €350 a month, depending on the quality of the facility chosen. The chairman of the Academic Association of the University of Madeira (AAUMa), recognizes that accommodation is one of the things that affects in particular students from the Azores and mainland studying in the region, saying “The accommodation in Funchal is extremely expensive compared with, for example, the rental of a room in Minho, or in the Beira Interior, or Évora”. He has no doubt that the monthly expenditure of an outsider who studies at UMa “easily surpasses 500 euros monthly.” That’s as much as the minimum wage, so I guess unless one has rich parents, it is a case of staying nearer home.
There is yet another article on the situation of Portugal in the world cup qualifiers, with just second place in the group looking achievable now, and even that depending on the slip-ups of other teams. Second place means going into play-off games for the 8 best teams in that position.
The slightly surreal main picture of yesterday’s front page shows the inside of the church in Porto Moniz, filled from floor to ceiling and from wall to wall with scaffolding. Headlined : “Scaffolding Inside the The Church For 5 Years”, it goes on to say that safety inside is a concern, and delays in the repair works may lead to the loss of €75 thousand in grant money. The Diário calls it the ‘Factory of the Church of Porto Moniz, but it’s real name is Nossa Senhora da Conceição, and it could lose 75% of the approved grant of €100 thousand euros, due to delays in works that began in 2004. This is due to deadlines for completing the repairs expiring in September 2008, after an extension had already been granted. The population are fed up with the situation, and now even have safety fears after an object fell from above recently.
‘More Than 75% Deliver IRS Through The Internet : The deadline for doing your tax return electronically (through the internet) is 15th April’. The estimate is that between 75 and 78 thousand tax submissions will be made this way in 2009, but not for the reasons you may think. The number of houses and taxpayers with internet access and know-how is not part of the equation. It is mostly down to a number of help organisations that have sprung up over recent years, which include to some extent the Finance offices, where as well as help with the figures, they will actually input through the internet on behalf of the taxpayer. Paper submissions are down from 42 to 28 thousand compared to the last tax year. The date limit given in the title is for income from work and pensions from Portugal (Anexes A – H). Any refunds due will be made by 16th May, if validated without access to documentation by the tax authorities of course, and if bank details are provided.
Other News :
On Saturday April 4, if you fancy a bit of exercise, and at the same time draw attention to an important matter, go at 9 o’clock in the morning to the Sé Cathedral in Funchal. The ‘Marcha Pela Saúde’ (Walk for Health) is an initiative organised by the Madeira branch of the Portuguese League Against Cancer, which invites everyone to join in, and in particular they are looking for family participation covering the different generations. There is also some entertainment arranged for the end of the event, but I won’t spoil it for you.
‘Taxis from Santa Cruz with new prices’. Following approval by the Regional Directorate for Trade, Industry and Energy (DRCIE), new prices apply that are slightly different from those charged in Funchal and on the rest of the island. One of the main differences is the reduction of the distance travelled before the taxi meter starts adding to the starting cost, which has been reduced by 250 metres. From there, the meter will clock up 10 cêntimos for every 80 metres travelled, and will also add that same amount for every 30 seconds the taxi is stopped. The ‘flag’ (starting price?) will remain unchanged at €3.95. A spokesman for the taxi association ASAT said “Instead of requesting a price increase, we opted for a reduction in metres. We believe it is a measure that affect fewer customers.” A 6 or 8 seater taxi will continue to add 20% to the price when transporting at least 4 passengers, but the night time hours for all taxis has changed, and the night rate will now run between 9pm and 6am. The article mentions that new rates will soon apply to all of Madeira. That is a simplified version of what is given, but as the airport falls within Santa Cruz, it may be that travellers find the amount they have been used to paying has changed.
The natural development of links between the various security forces, combined with greater prevention and quicker responses to potential criminal activity, are among the factors that explain the positive results presented in the latest Annual Report on Internal Security for 2008. The region, as reported last week, joined a group of five districts in Portugal that recorded significant decreases in terms of occurrences of crimes. This happened with general crime, as well as the more serious, complex and organized criminal activities. In the case of the Judicial Police, during the past year there were 7% less cases requiring investigation, compared to 2007.
Lots of financial advice given today for those who have to submit tax returns, all useful stuff, but that is mainly double-dutch to me. However, there was one point I did understand and thought was rather odd, and that is the inability to reclaim IVA (VAT) or to offset in ones business accounts, where the purchase was made in another member state of the EU. The reason given being that Portugal does not receive that IVA. Ones options are to reclaim the IVA in the country of expenditure, or pass that on as an additional cost onto your customer. The first option sounds like a lot of time and effort, the second a customer turn-off. Is that what Europe is all about? As always, please verify any financial information before acting on it.
The ferry ‘Volcán de Tijarafe’ stayed in Portimão (Portugal) longer on Sunday, knowing that it’s return trip would be hampered by another ‘full house’ in Funchal harbour yesterday. It was scheduled to arrive at 6pm, to avoid the ‘full house’ caused by four visiting cruise ships. Bad timing for the 200 Madeiran students off to the Canary Islands for their ‘final year Easter fling’. That’s two consecutive days that Funchal port was full, yesterday with 7,400 tourists.
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My school holidays started yesterday, so me and my chums have no more Portuguese lessons for two weeks. I have the ‘school card’ now, so I am officially a student, and that allows me use of the school canteen. I would like to try it out as I expect it is really cheap, but the thought of being the butt of discussion for hundreds of kids is too much to overcome. Maybe I should go in disguise … as a teacher perhaps.
I am sure that nobody is really interested in my weekend, so just one little story from Saturday night when I went into town to watch the football, having just consumed my evening meal. It doesn’t happen often on this scale, but I went in this one place and ordered a beer, and 10 minutes later arrived a plate of freshly cooked bbq chicken and chips. So rather than cause offence, I accepted with thanks and spent the next half an hour picking through it. I just don’t have the heart to say no when when it is something they have made especially, and I remember last time when it happened in the same place, the lady owner looked like she was going to burst into tears when I turned the food away, and she asked why I didn’t like it. That’s an extra trip to the gym again this week then.
I will be back with news tomorrow, promise.
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