The government is preparing a one-off income tax surcharge to help reach this year’s budget-deficit target.

The tax will apply to all taxable income, and the revenue raised will be equivalent to 50 percent of the Christmas supplements that all employees receive, excluding the amount below the national minimum wage.

The Christmas payment is equal to a month’s salary, and is paid to every employee in Portugal.

The austerity plan is aimed at reducing the deficit to the EU ceiling of 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2013. It is currently 5.9% and last year’s was 9.1%, so it is already going in the right direction at a speedy rate.