João Velez de Lima, Partner of the Tax practice and Head Partner of the Porto office, took part in the conference marking the 10th anniversary of the Jornal Económico, participating in the panel discussion “How Can the North Help Transform Portugal?”, which brought together business leaders and experts to reflect on the key challenges and opportunities facing Northern Portugal.

During the discussion, João Velez de Lima highlighted the need to create a more favourable environment for business growth, arguing that while Portugal has demonstrated a strong ability to foster entrepreneurship and create new businesses, it continues to maintain barriers that hinder their expansion. “We are excellent at creating businesses and entrepreneurs, but we are also excellent at penalising the growth of those same entrepreneurs,” he stated.

The VdA Partner also stressed the importance of tax reform aimed at enhancing competitiveness and simplifying the business framework, advocating for a more efficient and less burdensome system for those looking to invest and grow. Among the measures proposed, he emphasised the need to simplify the tax system and remove mechanisms that continue to place a burden on economic activity.

The conference brought together representatives from the business, academic and institutional sectors to discuss the role of Northern Portugal in the country’s economic development. The debate focused on issues such as business scale, higher-value exports and workforce skills, all identified as key drivers of regional competitiveness and sustainable economic growth.