Portugal is planning to become a haven for young adults by giving them a decade-long tax break in an attempt to curb brain drain.

Under plans proposed by Portugal’s centre-Right government, workers under 35 would be exempt from paying income tax for the first year of their careers, before receiving progressive discounts for the next decade.

Luís Montenegro, the prime minister of Portugal, said: “Our goal is to really increase our ability to retain talent, to keep our young people in Portugal, ensuring that fewer of them leave, and that those who do can return.”

The country has struggled with “brain drain” since the global financial crisis in 2008.

In the period since, 360,000 young people between 15 and 35 have left Portugal in order to find work – one third of all emigrants during this period.

In a bid to prevent this, after a year of living income tax free, young workers would receive a 75 per cent tax break for the next two years. This would be followed by a 50 per cent tax exemption in years five to seven, dropping to 25 per cent in years eight to 10.