The head of Portugal's Tax Workers Union said today that there is a VIP taxpayers list, a list that the Government and the Tax Authority denies exists and are prepared to go to court to refute the allegation that a two tier taxpayer system is in operation.

Today’s edition of Visão writes that the Secretary of State for Fiscal Affairs, Paul Nuncio, has drawn up a list of VIP taxpayers taken from media, politics, finance and business whose tax records when accessed by staff trigger an alert to show who has been looking.

Portugal's Council of Ministers today approved a bill to establish a register of those convicted of paedophile offences. This now will go to parliament for approval but the long-awaited clause that allows parents easy access to the list is not present.

According to Secretary of State for Justice, Antonio Moura Costa, it is proposed that parents can ask their local police, "on the basis of concrete situations," whether a person is on the list to which the police will have online access, as will the courts, the probation services and child protection services.

The Algarve Tourism Board was founded on March 18th 1970, when Salazar ruled the country with a fiscal and political rod of iron, Faro airport had been open for less than five years (pictured), and actor Lee Marvin had a surprise No.1 with ‘Wand’rin’ Star’ which had just knocked ‘Bridge over Troubled Water’ by Simon and Garfunkel into second place.

Technology and music have changed rather since the early '70s and the tourist board is launching a 45th anniversary campaign on Facebook to promote the region and its own magic powers of longevity through periods of management upheaval and instability.

New pension rules in the UK will allow people to cash in their pensions next month, prompting the Financial Conduct Authority to warn people about a host of bogus investment funds, fake financial advisers, fraudulent websites and firms.

Under George Osborne's pension reforms, people over 55 will from April 6 be able to withdraw their entire pension funds in cash.

Employment in Britain has been bolstered by the rapid increase in self-employment.

The boom results from a flexible economy rather than a job market which is weak, according to the Bank of England (helpfully pictured).

Novo Banco in Viseu was the latest branch invaded by angry protestors who simply want their money back.

Fed up with Chief Executive Stock da Cunha’s ‘nothing to do with me’ attitude, around 50 BES bondholders, whose investments were wiped out when BES collapsed last August, say they will not give up and are pressing for an audience with the Minister of Finance.

The letter, written in Seville and dated 29 April 1498, was addressed to the explorer’s son Diego.

It has been valued at €21 million and is one of several letters penned by Columbus in the possession of Spain’s House of Alba foundation.

A report out today that reviews justice systems in the EU has concluded that Portugal has come top in the time wasting stakes as its justice system beats all other members for the average period taken to wrap up court cases.

The time taken to resolve the civil cases analysed between 2010 and 2012 was so great that the classification for Portugal was almost off the scale with members of the public having to undergo waits of between 900 and 1,100 days before cases were concluded.