The increase in taxation expected to be formally announced Monday may mean some citizens are left better off, tax specialist Jaime Carvalho Esteves, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, suggested Friday.

In relation to measures already in the public domain, the reduction in the number of income tax brackets and the special surcharge due to come into effect, Esteves forecasts that this should have a positive effect with “a significant number of public sector workers and pensioners going to see an increase in their net earnings in 2013.”

However, this would be modified in most cases by the continued suppression of one month’s holiday pay, the restructuring of the tax brackets and the tax surcharge in effect, Esteves explained before calling for a series of reforms to corporate taxation and coming out against a planned national financial transaction tax.

The leaks also suggest that the government has U-turned on a planned rise in tobacco taxation in the 2013 budget.

Reports now suggest that taxation on cigarettes themselves are to remain steady next year while rolling tobacco and cigars get a 15% to 25% hike in tax following a change in the way the tax is calculated.

This follows a sharp rise coming into effect in 2012 that has actually led to a 10.8% fall in tobacco taxation revenues due to a rise in contraband according to experts in the sector.