STI is also supporting support for abusive entrepreneurs – dividends may also need to be paid back

Artūras Klerauskas, deputy director of the State Tax Inspection (STI), reported that 55.2 thousand people use tax deferral measures. taxpayers.

“During that entire period, more than 750 million. payment of taxes to the government budget ”, – said A. Klerauskas and pointed out that half of this amount was contributed by the representatives of the wholesale and retail trade.

Another aid measure, the possibility of entering into tax loan agreements, was used by more than 7,000 taxpayers for an amount of 363.3 million euros. euros.

“Not all contributors who received help were able to explain how and to what extent the key indicators of their business were affected by the pandemic or quarantine, not to mention situations in which the applications contained false data,” said A. Klerauskas.

The STI has selected companies whose accounts accumulate millions of amounts, distribute loans to shareholders or other companies, and pay dividends.

Dodge apps

A. Klerauskas warns that there are frequent cases in which the business has changed to a vegetative state and its turnover has decreased even before the pandemic or before the start of the quarantine.

STI selected 236 companies for additional inspections, whose back taxes amount to 80 million LTL. euros. 34 companies with arrears of 20.3 million. The STI has already removed COVID-19 from the list of victims for assistance, as they have not had a real impact due to the quarantine.

In other cases, a closer look reveals that the business or part of it has been transferred to other legal entities, and after the transfer, the company’s employees have passed away, and a situation in which the company has experienced a downfall. very marked in sales, “said the STI representative.

It often turned out that the severely affected activities reported by the company were simply alleged and not actually carried out. For example, a grave management company had stated that it was selling goods.

“The most common situation we encounter when examining applications is that when we ask to substantiate the declared statements, we simply do not receive a response, no factual circumstances or evidence is provided to support the statements made in the applications,” says A. Klerauskas.

Some companies ask for help even in cases where their sales have increased compared to the pre-pandemic period.

Therefore, the STI has now examined companies more closely and implemented procedures to inspect companies, using 5 criteria: assess liquidity, solvency, indebtedness and other indicators of the company.

“Even in cases where taxpayers are included in the lists automatically, we select taxpayers according to certain criteria, whose situation and situation we evaluate much more carefully,” said A. Klerauskas.

2021 Tax relief measures for companies affected by a pandemic are designed to maintain their liquidity and business continuity.

“The distinguishing feature of the assistance applied by the STI this year is its convenience. Convenience means not only that aid is provided to businesses that have been affected in one way or another by the COVID-19 pandemic, but convenience also means that aid will be delivered to those in vital need. ” , he warned. V. Klerauskas.

If it sticks well, the bracket does not belong.

80 companies that have more than 100 million in their accounts. for an amount of 200 million euros in cash, it has accumulated 200 million euros. state tax arrears.

“We are faced with situations in which the administrators or shareholders of the companies that requested assistance have made decisions for themselves, which in principle did not improve the financial situation of the company in a financial situation like this,” said A. Klerauskas.

He cites examples of companies that lend to other companies, pay dividends or pay interest to a shareholder in the wake of the second wave of the pandemic, with large tax arrears.

According to STI data, in the 4th quarter of last year. 445 companies disbursed 17.9 million. dividends of 30.2 million euros, although it has a tax delinquency of 30.2 million euros. euros. 2020 December 1 companies had accumulated 220.3 million. € arrears, while bank accounts have around 100 million. euros.

The company, which is dedicated to the activity of real estate leasing, uses the aid and has not paid more than 1.5 million. taxes. However, a close examination of the additional information shows that the cash balance in February this year. represents almost 1.7 million. At the same time, interest on loans granted to the company, totaling up to 3 million euros, were paid to the company’s shareholder at the end of the year. euros. Taking advantage of the opportunity to defer taxes, the same company paid less than 1000 euros to the budget ”, gives an example A. Klerauskas.

According to him, both the amounts available and the payments to shareholders significantly exceed the available tax arrears.

Another company, which is dedicated to the wholesale of pharmaceutical products, did not pay the state 0.5 million. euros. The company’s sales declined significantly, but the company’s profits last year amounted to around 400 thousand. euros, and 200 thousand. Dividends were paid in EUR to shareholders.

Another company did not pay 600 thousand. but it loaned 1.5 million euros to the related company at the time. 6 million euros in the account. euro.

A. Klerauskas cautioned that creditors take precedence over shareholders’ interests, so dividends may have to be paid back.

“Article 59 of the Capital Companies Law establishes that a company will not be able to pay dividends if it has not paid the established taxes within the established deadlines,” says A. Klerauskas.

He also drew attention to case law: only companies whose operations are stable can pay dividends. Therefore, by doing so, the company itself confirms that it does not need the help.

“The fact of the payment of dividends can be seen as a confirmation that the company is stable and does not experience difficulties”, says A. Klerauskas.

You will appreciate more closely

STI representatives ensure that, after assessing the circumstances, all aid applications will be more carefully evaluated, and companies, even those automatically included in the aid lists, can be removed from them at a later stage. According to the latest list, 72.5 thousand are considered victims. companies, although much of the support is not used.

“Once it is established that the companies meet the criteria for activity, changes in sales, and also automatically, this list of contributors will be updated periodically, taking into account the latest taxpayer sales data received by the STI, ”he says. A. Klerauskas.

Companies can defer their tax obligations until April 30 or enter into a tax loan agreement until the end of June.

This year, 23.3 million. EUR – every four application barriers

The affected companies, whose turnover has fallen by 30 percent as a result of the pandemic, are currently eligible to receive subsidies amounting to a quarter of the personal income tax paid in 2019.

17.9 thousand have already requested this support. companies, 10.9 thousand. the requests of the companies were transferred for the disbursement: 23.3 million. grants in euros. One in four applications is rejected (3.2 thousand) or returned (1.5 thousand).