Factbox: Austerity measures around the eurozone

(Reuters) - Portugal's parliament approved late on Wednesday the general guidelines of an austerity package, delivering the government a victory in its drive to cut the budget deficit.

Here are some details on austerity measures around the eurozone:

* PORTUGAL:

-- Prime Minister Jose Socrates and opposition leader Pedro Passos Coelho drew up steps to slash the budget deficit, including 5 percent pay cuts for senior public sector staff and politicians, and increases in VAT sales tax, income tax and profits tax ranging from 1 percent to 2.5 percent.

-- The cabinet approved the program on May 20. The government said it aims to save 2 billion euros ($2.43 billion) this year in order to cut the deficit to 7.3 percent of GDP in 2010 and 4.6 percent in 2011. In 2009 it hit 9.4 percent, prompting a sell-off of Portuguese assets by investors.

-- Wednesday's vote was on the general guidelines of the measures, which under Portuguese parliamentary procedure is subsequently followed by a detailed line-by-line vote of each item. That vote is scheduled for June 9 but with the guidelines approved the total amounts of the plan cannot change.

* SPAIN:

-- Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced on May 12 fresh spending cuts totaling 15 billion euros in 2010 and 2011. Civil service salaries will be cut by 5 percent in 2010 and frozen in 2011, while more than 6 billion euros will be cut from public investment.

-- The cuts are aimed at speeding up fiscal consolidation and meet Spain's revised deficit targets of 9.3 percent of GDP in 2010 and 6 percent in 2011, compared with 11.2 percent in 2009.

-- Public debt as a percentage of GDP is seen at 65.9 percent in 2010, rising to 71.9 percent in 2011.

* ITALY:

-- On May 25 a cabinet meeting approved a 24 billion-euro deficit cut and measures such as delaying retirement dates by between three and six months, a state salary freeze and cuts to the pay of high public sector earners.

-- Regional and local governments will be pressed to contribute some 13 billion euros of spending cuts in 2011-2012, sources said, almost inevitably affecting schools and hospitals. Busy arteries such as Rome's ring road may become toll roads.

-- Though Italy kept its budget deficit down to 5.3 percent of GDP last year -- well below the EU average -- the budget aims to slash it to 2.7 percent by 2012.

* FRANCE:

-- President Nicolas Sarkozy has said France will look to restore its public finances as the economic recovery takes root.

-- In an effort to keep a lid on the budget deficit, France has said it will freeze all spending, except pensions and interest payments on government debt, between 2011-2013 and cut state operating costs by 10 percent over the same period. Sarkozy has said this does not amount to an austerity plan.

* GREECE:

-- Greece has approved a pension reform bill, after agreeing with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund a fresh set of austerity measures aimed at pulling the country out of a severe debt crisis that has shaken the euro zone.

-- Under the EU-IMF deal, Greece plans to narrow its budget shortfall from 13.6 percent of GDP in 2009 to 8.1 percent this year, 7.6 percent in 2011 and 2.6 percent in 2014.

-- Austerity measures include a public sector pay freeze until 2014. Christmas, Easter and summer holiday bonuses, also known as 13th and 14th month salaries, are abolished for civil servants earning above 3,000 euros a month and are capped at 1,000 euros for those earning less.

-- Public sector allowances are cut by an additional 8 percent. These allowances, which account for a significant part of civil servants' overall income, were cut by 12 percent under a round of austerity measures announced in March.

* TAX HIKES:

-- The main VAT rate is increased by 2 percentage points to 23 percent. In March it had grown to 21 percent from 19 percent.

-- Excise taxes on fuel, cigarettes and alcohol are increased by a further 10 percent.

-- The government expects to generate additional revenues through a one-off tax on highly profitable companies, as well as new gambling and gaming licenses and more property taxes.

* PENSIONS:

-- The government has said it will freeze pensions in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

-- According to the pension bill, expected to be voted by parliament in June, the statutory retirement age for women will be raised by 5 years to 65 to match the retirement age for men.

* IRELAND:

* DEFICIT:

-- The government's budget for 2010 presented in December projected a deficit of 11.6 percent of gross domestic product. The median forecast of analysts polled by Reuters is for Ireland's budget deficit to come in at 11.5 percent.

* AUSTERITY:

-- Fiscal reform so far: 3 austerity budgets presented in little over a year, in October 2008, April 2009 and December 2010. With the first two budgets focused on tax rises, December's budget for 2010 drew most praise as it delivered spending cuts of 4 billion euros, including a cut in public sector pay.

-- Fresh savings worth 3 billion euros are planned for each of 2011 and 2012.

(Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit;)