“At this stage (of the submission – ELTA), we will support the solidarity tax because we believe it is necessary, but fundamentally the positions are different on where it will be used.” Today, it is not seen that it is socially just of those people who have accumulated profits for the bank with housing loans (…), and this should be used for an important purpose, the defense of the country , but there are enough funds from the budget and other funding sources,” S. Skvernelis told reporters at the Seimas on Tuesday.
“If it is approved after submission, we will present our proposals so that it can be linked and people can recover part of the interest for the first housing deposits paid,” he noted.
ELTA recalls that the bill on the temporary banking solidarity contribution proposed by the Ministry of Finance will be presented during the plenary session of the Seimas on Thursday.
The bill aims to determine the amount of the temporary solidarity contribution applied due to the application of state support measures to stimulate the economy, inflation and the change in direction of monetary policy, after the formation of an unexpected significant financial result, the purpose of using the funds received, the procedure for calculating, reporting, paying and administering the temporary solidarity contribution.
It is also proposed that the funds collected during the implementation of the law be used to finance projects for the adaptation and/or creation of infrastructure for military mobility and dual-use transport (civilian and military), as well as as well as the military infrastructure needed to support the host nation.
Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, chairwoman of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), has voiced her support for the banks’ solidarity contribution, but representatives of the ruling Liberal Movement party are unanimous in saying they will not support a such a bill.
The initiators claim that due to exceptional circumstances, determined by the development of the geopolitical situation of the Russian Federation in 2022. February 24 after the start of the war in Ukraine, in order to accelerate the deployment of the defense forces of the NATO allies in Lithuania, the need to finance the adaptation and/or creation of dual-use (civilian and military) military mobility and transport infrastructure, as well as the military infrastructure necessary to ensure the support of the country host, have increased significantly.
It is planned that after the implementation of the laws, according to the probable scenario, about 130 million will be collected in the state budget in 2023. EUR, in 2024 – about 230 million. euros, and in 2025 – about 50 million. euros.
The temporary solidarity contribution will apply to all credit institutions, with the exception of 400 million. euros, i.e. 1% of the deposit limit of all residents, but a coefficient reflecting the share of activity of each credit institution in Lithuania is applied to the base. In this way, it is taken into account that the resulting atypical situation was formed primarily due to economic processes and operations and market imperfections in Lithuania, and not due to business decisions of financial institutions.
Source: The Delfi
