Countries compete to keep skilled young workers

In 2020, the Portuguese Software Engineer, Dute Dies accepted a job offer to work at Microsoft’s Dublin Auditor Company.

A year later, he joined a team at Microsoft’s headquarters in Seattle, where he still works.

Even though he remembers the Portuguese-back-back approaches to life, and the family’s spirit of the work atmosphere there is not regretting, not for a second, not for a second, chasing an international career His choice of.

The decision of Shri Dies became easier than all financial impacts of proceeding.

The decision of the spreadsheet was clear: Living in Portugal will be financially ruined.

“I simulated how much money I would save for a year in Portugal, and I quickly realize that I would not be able to take a comfortable life financially, even if I would not be able to take a comfortable life, even if I am the best paying jobs available in engineering Meet one from my experience level, “

Two -year job experience in Portugal, while Mr. Dies was concluding his masters in Lisbon Institutes Superior Tekeco, strengthened his sentence: his annual income was € 35,000 (€ 36,000; £ 29,000).

But his household salary was very low, very little.

His income put him in a tax bracket, which meant that up to 40% of this gross salary went to the state.

“It was financially bad. If I don’t live with my parents, it would be very difficult to save money,” he misses.

Going to Ireland meant that his salary possibilities increased immediately, doubled to € 60,000.

Money is even better in the US, where it now earns above $ 160,000 before the 20% income tax rate, much less than the house.

Mr. Dias has intended to return to Lisbon in two years with “several more savings”.

Keeping skilled workers like Sri Dies in Portugal has been a concern for recent governments.

In 2020, the administration led by Socialist Party’s Antonio Costa launched the IRS Jovam, which was a tax deducted program for workers under 30 years of age and was associated with the level of education.

According to official data, in 2022, 73,684 taxpayers benefited from this encouragement.

After a Snap election in March, the new Central-Shi Portuguese government led by Luis Montenegro doubled the idea and expanded it from five to 10 years, and all workers independently expanded independently of their educational levels under 35.

The proposal passed by the Portuguese Parliament in late November, according to the Portuguese Finance Ministry, is due to profit to 400,000 workers.

But experts say that this will probably not be enough to prevent the youth from going abroad.

“It is unlikely that, on its own, the tax governance will make young workers when it remains in the country, whether professional opportunities are more abundant in abroad, or due to the fact that this tax profit is only under € 28,000 only under € 28,000 The annual income is applied, “Católica is called Sergio Vasks, Professor of Tax Law at Lisbon School of Law.

He explains that the Portuguese government still takes more than the average worker’s salary than the most rich countries.

Known as tax nail, the amount of taxes paid by an average single worker without children and the ratio between the same total labor cost for employers is 42.3% in Portugal.

he is 8th highest between 38 member countries of OECD.

“It is a tax regime that is an enemy of qualified work and professional success. This regime will not solve this problem,” is called Mr. Vasks.

For the tax matters in the early 2010s, former state secretary Mr. Vasks says: “I can’t even imagine a young professional, who is deciding to go to Portugal only due to an additional couple hundred euros.

“Even a low-skilled worker will not take a decision based on him. Portuguese food probably works better as an incentive to move here than that tax”.

Rita de la Fariya, president of the tax law at the University of Leeds, reminded that the migration of young people is not just a Portuguese problem, and that Europe is struggling with the challenges of young migration.

According to a study requested by the Portuguese Parliament, until July, Portugal of the European Union, Poland and Croatia, had specialized rule based on the age of taxpayers.

“Challenges are very clear: worker dynamics are high. The problem is that the country spends a large amount of training for them, as soon as they enter the workforce,” he said.

Ms. Da La Feria, who moved to the UK at an early age, told the BBC that when she left Portugal, she “did not intend to leave for good: Many leave their original countries thinking that they some points But once they make a family, it is almost impossible.

A software engineer like Antonio Almeeda, Sri Dies, left Portugal during an epidemic for a job in Berlin in late 2020, just after completing his degree. He will change the German capital for Brussels two years later. All his work was done abroad.

“In 2020, we were offered a monthly salary of € 1,300 in Lisbon. Berlin offered me € 4,200 for a junior role.”

Even Germany had a quite net profit, with 40% income tax rate. “It was not a difficult decision,” says Mr. Almeda.

Now in Belgium – where there are more taxes, it emphasizes – returning to its homeland is not a priority. “I eventually think of returning, mainly for family reasons.

“But at the moment my life standards are very high and I like the way of life of Central Europe. And the main problem in Portugal is low salary, not tax.”

Shri Almida does not consider Portuguese changes as a major factor when thinking of professionals and opposition to come back home.

“Till date I never thought about it.”

Mr. Dies agrees: “Salary outside Portugal will always be higher, and all those who do not have any personal or family relations for the country will not have any kind of financial or career encouragement to live there”.