Zero wants a national pass and more VAT on domestic flights

The creation of a national public transport pass for 45 euros per month, or the increase in VAT on domestic continental flights from six to 23% are proposals from the environmentalist association Zero for the next State Budget.

The association released this Wednesday in a statement proposals for the 2026 State Budget (OE2026) which, according to Zero, promote environmental, social and economic sustainability, and cover areas such as waste, water, forests, mobility, energy, buildings and industry.

In the area of mobility, the creation of a national pass that integrates rail and metropolitan transport stands out, promoting a reduction in private car ownership. However, Zero also proposes differentiated tolls based on vehicle weight and a reduction for electric buses, and the allocation of part of the various taxes related to fuel and transport to the electrification of high-use fleets (e.g., taxis, buses, or commercial vehicles).

The set of measures, already sent to the parliamentary groups and the Government, also includes the application of a tax on plastic packaging placed on the market , to finance the European contribution on non-recycled plastics (around 200 million euros per year), or the progressive increase of the Waste Management Tax.

"Portugal still disposes of or incinerates more than 70% of its municipal waste, far from meeting European recycling targets. Zero proposes an annual increase of 10 euros in this rate until 2030, making it less financially attractive to send waste to landfill or incineration, promoting circular solutions, effective selective collection, and overall waste reduction," the document released today states.

Then, when the agricultural sector consumes more than 70% of the water “but pays only about 5% of the water resource tax, while domestic consumers pay disproportionately more”, Zero proposes increasing the Water Resource Tax for agriculture and hydroelectric production, and in the same sector advocates the urgent review of the technical regulation on the water efficiency of buildings (from 1995), and the suspension of the expansion of collective irrigation schemes initiated by the state.

In the area of forests, the association calls for the implementation of the special contribution for forest conservation, created five years ago to support slow-growing forest species but which has never been regulated.

In the energy sector, the environmental association suggests completely unfreezing the carbon tax on fuels, partially frozen since 2022, and financing energy storage.

Zero also wants rules for exemption from ISP (tax on petroleum and energy products) for biomethane and green hydrogen, and an increase in ISP on fossil fuels. In buildings, 5% of the ISP should be earmarked to support the purchase of heat pumps and electric stoves.