Portugal's bold move to keep young talent from leaving the country

In a ground-breaking move Portugal wants to keep its bright minds at home — the government announced tax-breaks that could help around 400k young workers (which will cost about 525m euros per year)

Pedro Monteiro‚ a 23-year-old aerospace engineering student doesnt feel sure about staying in his home country: “The country needs us and we want to stay but we need to see signs from the government that they are implementing policies that will help“

The stats paint a concerning picture: about 23% of Portuguese-born citizens live abroad; including roughly 850k young people aged 15-39. Whats even more alarming — around 40% of yearly tech and university graduates pack their bags and leave

• Netherlands became top destination after Brexit
• Germany and Nordic countries attract many workers
• Housing prices jumped 186% in less than decade
• Average after-tax income: 16‚943 euros in Portugal vs 45‚429 euros in Netherlands

Cabinet Minister Antonio Leitao Amaro explains the governments position:

We are designing a solid package that tries to solve the main reasons why the young leave

The new rules will give under-35s earning up to 28k euros yearly a full tax break in their first working year; the benefit drops step-by-step to 25% between years 8-10. Young people will also get help with housing — no transaction taxes on first homes and state-backed loans

Other EU countries face similar issues. In Hungary‚ the wage gap with neighboring Austria (12.8 vs 40.9 euros per hour) pushes many to relocate. Italy tried tax breaks too but had to cut them back this year due to high costs

The success of Portugals plan remains unclear — housing costs and career growth opportunities still make foreign countries look more attractive to young specialists