Novobanco is challenging the increased property tax for "offshore" offices, while Fidelidade has exited the real estate sector.

Recently, Novobanco has been actively challenging property tax (IMI) decisions in administrative and tax courts, and has also filed a complaint in Brussels. At the same time, the insurance company Fidelidade has decided to withdraw from investments in real estate in Portugal. As of May 10, 2024, it became known that legislation passed in 2021 significantly increased the tax burden on real estate transactions for companies whose shareholders are registered in countries with favorable tax regimes. This has directly affected the operations of organizations such as Novobanco and Fidelidade.

Main shareholders

The main shareholder of Novobanco is the Lone Star fund, which manages assets through offshore zones, while Fidelidade is controlled by the Fosun conglomerate, registered in Hong Kong, which also benefits from favorable tax conditions.

• Novobanco has chosen the path of legal appeal.
• Fidelidade has decided to completely cease all investments in Portuguese real estate to avoid high taxes.

Dialogue with legislative bodies

Additionally, the insurance company hopes for the possibility of dialogue with legislative bodies to amend the current legal act. As for Novobanco, according to information obtained from funded sources, this bank continues to challenge the decisions regarding IMI and IMT in the courts, considering that these taxes were established by current legislation.

Actions of Novobanco

Under the management of Mark Burk, Novobanco has also filed a complaint with the European Commission, and according to sources close to the matter, the bank“I am ready to initiate a request for a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice of the European Union.”As mentioned in the news a year ago, there is an active confrontation between tax changes and the actions of large financial and insurance organizations in Portugal. The future steps and decisions made by these companies could significantly impact the real estate and financial services market in the country.