经济学人:欧洲养老金:一脚踏入阿尔加维 (2)

 　　Finland shredded¹ its tax agreement with Portugal in June. 6月，芬兰撕毁了与葡萄牙的税收协定。

　　If Portugal does not accept a draft deal letting Finland tax most pensions drawn² by its retirees there by November, it will start doing so anyway in January. 如果葡萄牙不接受让芬兰从11月开始对芬兰退休者的大部分退休金征税的起草协议，那么该国不论如何都将从1月起贯彻该规定。

　　It estimates that it loses a mere³ 3m-6m euros a year in revenue to Portugal, but says that as a matter of principle it can no longer tolerate "tax refugees". 据评估，每年该国流入葡萄牙的收入损失不过3到5百万欧元，但是该国表示原则上，他们将不再默许“税收难民”。

　　This is just sour grapes, says Pekka Pystynen, a retired⁴ former executive. 一名已退休的前主管Pekka Pystynen称这不过是吃不到葡萄说葡萄酸罢了。

　　Mr Pystynen spends his winters in his home in the Algarve and the summers at his cottage in Finland. Pystynen在他位于阿尔加维的家中过冬，在芬兰的小屋中入夏。

　　The tax benefits were a bonus, he says, but the main draws were the weather and relaxed lifestyle. 税收优惠是一种奖励，他说，但主要吸引人的地方还是天气和放松的生活方式。

　　Pensioners⁵ are important to Portugal's tourism industry, which contributed over 17% to the country's GDP in 2017. One job in five is linked to tourism. 领退休金的人对葡萄牙的旅游业非常重要，2017年旅游业对该国GDP的贡献超过17%。五分之一的工作都和旅游业挂钩。

　　The average pension paid to Finns living in Portugal is around 3,500 euros a month. Since prices are a fifth lower than the euro-area average, that goes a long way. 居住在葡萄牙的芬兰人平均每月的养老金约为3500欧元。由于该数额比欧元区平均数额低五分之一，这对该国大有帮助。

　　According to Sirpa Uimonen of the University of Helsinki, Finns living in the Algarve spend 14,700 euros a year on average, over 20% more than locals do. 赫尔辛基大学的Sirpa Uimonen表示，生活在阿尔加维的芬兰人平均每年支出为14,700欧元，比本地人的平均年支出多20%。

　　Withdrawing from double-taxation agreements is rare. Denmark ended its deals with Spain and France in 2009, also because of rows about pensions. 退出双重课税协议是很少见的。2009年丹麦终止和西班牙及法国的协议，也是由于养老金争端。

　　In the case of Portugal, other countries may follow Finland's lead. Sweden's finance minister has pressed to do so. 至于葡萄牙，其他国家或许会以芬兰为榜样。瑞典的财政部长强烈要求这么做。

　　More commonly, countries take matters into their own hands. France is about to start taxing French pensions that are paid abroad. 更普遍的情况是，各国会亲自出马。法国将开始对海外支付的法国养老金征税。

　　And a new bilateral⁶ agreement means that Britain will soon start taxing British government-service pensions drawn in Cyprus. 新的双边协议意味着英国很快将开始对在塞浦路斯提取的英国政府公务员养老金征税。

　　Portugal's generosity⁷ to retired foreigners has been criticised by locals. They pay up to 48% on their pensions; property prices rose by 10% last year. 葡萄牙对外国退休者的慷慨受到了当地人的批评。去年他们在养老金上的支出高达48%；房价上涨了10%。

　　Extra demand from foreign buyers will not have helped. One political party, the Left Bloc⁸, has proposed closing the pensions loophole. 来自外国买家的额外需求并没什么帮助。左翼联盟建议关闭养老金漏洞。

　　Retired foreigners may soon have to decide whether vinho verde and pasteis de nata are enough of a draw. 退休外国人或许很快便要决定葡萄牙绿酒和蛋挞是否有足够的吸引力。

1 shredded   

shred的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Serve the fish on a bed of shredded lettuce. 先铺一层碎生菜叶，再把鱼放上，就可以上桌了。
• I think Mapo beancurd and shredded meat in chilli sauce are quite special. 我觉得麻婆豆腐和鱼香肉丝味道不错。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 pensioners   

n.领取退休、养老金或抚恤金的人( pensioner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He intends to redistribute income from the middle class to poorer paid employees and pensioners. 他意图把中产阶级到低薪雇员和退休人员的收入做重新分配。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. 我自己就是一个我们的高贵的施主遗留基金的养老金领取者。 来自辞典例句

6 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

7 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

8 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。