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On Monday of next year, President Gitanas Nausėda discussed possible tax changes with members of the new Seimas, business representatives, employees and economists.
As Simon’s president’s adviser told reporters after the discussion, he agreed that the tax system should be stable and should not be changed frequently.
“There has been a lot of discussion and consensus that the tax system should be stable. Remembering what we discussed in public 12 months ago. At exactly the same time, we discussed this with countless new taxes that could possibly go into effect in a few weeks.
In the President’s opinion, this should not be the case and should be clearly enshrined in the tax administration laws for at least 6 months. the rule that taxes must be approved and come into effect no earlier than 6 months, ”said S. Krėpšta.
According to him, the discussion also touched on tax justice, which is currently lacking because some forms of income are subject to lower rates. It should be addressed, but the change would be systemic and would require a lot of discussion and calculation.
“We have come to the unanimous conclusion that it makes sense to establish a group of tax experts who would work very consistently on this issue and, say, over the next 6 months, coordinate and propose solutions to the Seimas,” said S. Krėpšta.
He agreed that the shadow economy is one of the reasons that relatively little tax is collected in the budget. Thus, the discussion also focused on new solutions to change the situation in this area.
Seimas member Mykolas Majauskas agreed that taxes should be treated with caution like in a glass shop and that no sudden movements should be made. However, it is good to discuss the tax system so that people’s legitimate expectations are not violated and there are no surprises.
“Certainly, certain tax benefits will have to be reviewed. But again, it will not be the task of the next few weeks to make decisions that will take effect on January 1. Today we must ensure that the tax system is stable and that there are no sudden movements, nor abrupt changes here ”, assured the politician.
However, there may be changes in the next four years as some of the tax exemptions need to be reviewed. However, greater clarity will be seen when a new government is formed, which will provide clear guidelines on how to proceed.
M. Majauskas said that all tax changes must be implemented according to the current procedure, no earlier than six months. However, the government should also be free to change tax laws with next year’s budget.
Inga Ruginienė, president of the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation, was pleased with the productive discussion, but noted that the current situation is not good.
“The economy is growing, but wages are lagging behind that growth,” said I. Ruginienė.
He stressed that changes in taxes should target the average person so that their income grows faster.
“We are all ordinary people and we are happy with the increase in wages,” said Nerijus Mačiulis, chief economist at Swedbank.
He assured that it would be better for everyone if taxes were changed less frequently.
According to the economist, the tax rates in Lithuania are not low, but there are many benefits for certain population groups or activities. They must be reviewed.
N. Mačiulis also recalled that the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation offers three other areas where taxes in Lithuania could be higher: property, pollution and “sins”.
“One of these could be a sugar tax,” the economist commented.
According to him, about 100 million could be collected from this tax. per year, and such a tax would increase the price of a loaf of bread by just 2 cents.
It is true, according to N. Mačiulis, even without new taxes, its collection could increase, if only some benefits were eliminated and the level of unaccounted for economy was reduced.
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