Romanovsky: Business agrees to pay higher taxes in order to spend more money on the country’s defense

This is how he reacted to Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė’s position expressed on Thursday, that at the beginning it should be agreed on at least 3 percent. GDP for national defense.

“The ambition can be even higher, our neighbor Poland has practically 4 percent. (…) The complexity of the discussion is that people have to agree on how to distribute the burden in society, so that society accepts it as fairly distributed,” she said.

For his part, A. Romanovskis noticed that their principle position is that business wants to contribute to the country’s defense with higher taxes, because a safe Lithuania is in the common interest of all of us – entrepreneurs in the regions, teachers, civil servants, retirees, industrialists, startup creators or members of the Seimas.

“Measures on how defense funding could be increased have been presented by business in many and varied ways, and some of them have ended up in specific defense funding proposals currently formed by the Government. But we also invite you to be ambitious and look beyond the current debate.

Therefore, we invite politicians to agree as soon as possible on the long-term strategic goal of allocating 4 percent of GDP to Lithuanian defense. More than 30,000 people have already expressed their support for such a goal by signing a petition. Lithuanian residents. We agree with the Prime Minister that the security of Lithuania is a priority issue. We have no doubt that politicians both in position and in opposition will agree on the long-term goal of allocating 4 percent. GDP for defense,” he said.

ELTA reminds that in March, at the second meeting initiated by Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, four options were presented on how to raise around 400 million next year. euros, which are needed for the additional financing of the national defense of Lithuania.

According to the first, the amount could be collected by revising progressive tax rates, taxation of individual activities, abolition of some benefits and up to 16 percent. by increasing the corporate tax. According to the second, 420 million 1 percent of euros could be collected. by increasing both the value added tax and the profit tax.

The third proposal, which would generate about 400 million euros – to increase the corporate tax rate by 2 percent. points, to cancel the preferential rate for small companies, as well as the heating and business license exemptions. At that time, the fourth offer for 400 mln. euros would consist of 2 percent. points for the defense of the increase in the profit tax and the allocation of a part of the personal income tax falling on the municipalities.

For their part, the opposition factions that did not participate in the meeting of I. Šimonytė propose to find funds for defense by introducing a bank property tax, issuing defense bonds, and reducing the shadow in the economy.

The opposition factions of the Seimas presented their proposals for additional funding for defense. Among them are proposals to introduce a bank property tax, defense bonds, an increase in the corporate tax, and a reduction in the shadow.

National defense funding in Lithuania will amount to 2.75 percent this year. from GDP, but it is aimed that this amount will reach at least 3% in the coming years.