Economy
New Labour Code to come into force next July
Lithuania’s new Labour Code, which is part of the so-called social model package, will come into force next July. […]
Seimas likely to extend reduced VAT until next June
The reduced 9-percent VAT rate on district heating will remain in place until next June, the chairman of the ruling Lithuanian Peasant and Green Union (LPGU) said on Monday, admitting that municipalities have forced them to drop, at least for now, the idea of raising the rate to the standard 21 percent. […]
President sees scrapping of reduced VAT on heating as untimely, improper
Raising the reduced 9-percent VAT rate on district heating to the standard 21-percent rate is an untimely and improper move, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė said on Monday. […]
New CEO expects to turn Lithuanian Railways into transparent company
Mantas Bartuška, the new chief executive officer of Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, or LG), is confident that he will manage to turn the country’s largest state-owned enterprise, which has recently come on the radar screen of law-enforcement, into a transparent company. […]
Bartuška appointed as CEO of Lithuanian Railways, Švedas as board chairman
Mantas Bartuška, currently CEO of the state-run oil product and liquefied natural gas terminals operator Klaipėdos Nafta (Klaipėda Oil), has been appointed as a new CEO of Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, or LG) and Romas Švedas, an independent expert and a former energy minister, has been appointed as chairman of the state railway company’s new management board. […]
Netherlands’ GeoPhy setting up services centre in Kaunas
GeoPhy, a Dutch big data company that collects, processes and analyses data on the global real estate market has set up an office in Kaunas. By mid-2017, the company plans to have recruited up to 25 experienced specialists who will be responsible for collecting and analysing data from all over the world. They will be doing this from Kaunas, GeoPhy announced in a press release. […]
New board of Lithuanian Railways appointed
A new management board of the state railway company Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, or LG), which has lately come on the radar screen of law-enforcement, was appointed on Wednesday, the day when Rokas Masiulis took over the helm of the Transport Ministry. […]
PM expects improved social model to be passed by next July
Lithuanian Prime Minister-designate Saulius Skvernelis expects that the so-called new social model, a package of legislation on labour market and social insurance reforms, will be improved and passed by next July to give six months to businesses and private individuals to prepare for the planned changes. […]
New PM says tax incentive for life insurance failed to achieve its goals
Lithuanian Prime Minister-designate Saulius Skvernelis says that the existing personal income tax incentive for life insurance has failed to achieve its goals and has to be reviewed. […]
VAT privileges for heating faulty – finmin-designate
Lithuania’s Finance Minister-Designate Vilius Šapoka says that value-added tax (VAT) privileges for heating of homes is a faulty scheme, which will, however, continue until the end of this heating season. […]
Half-hearted reforms won’t raise competitiveness of the Baltic Region – Swedbank
Russia has exited recession and now all the Baltic Sea region (BSR) economies are expanding, but growth is expected to be modest. The global rise of populism and anti-establishment moods, although promising fiscal expansion that may boost short-term growth, builds up risks of protectionism with a negative impact on long-term growth, Swedbank writes in its annual Baltic Sea Region Report. […]
Specialized alcohol stores would wipe out small shops – small businesses
Small-scale entrepreneurs say they would go bankrupt, if alcohol was moved out of food stores to specialized shops, as proposed by Lithuania’s new ruling Peasant and Green Union. […]
Analysts describe new Govt’s programme as cautious, vague
Economists and analysts describe the new Lithuanian government‘s program as cautious and vague and are concerned about the ruling coalition’s new proposals that may have a negative fiscal effect. […]
Lithuania’s structural reforms would be compatible with fiscal discipline
The Eurogroup thinks that Lithuania’s planned new social model, a package of legislation on structural labour market and pension system reforms, in 2017 would be compatible with fiscal discipline. […]
Lithuanian Railways’ CEO stepping down
Stasys Dailydka, long-standing CEO of Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, or LG), has turned in his resignation, the state-run company said. […]
Seimas to decide on postponing enforcement of some social model laws by 6 mos
Lithuania’s parliament has approved for discussion amendments, which suggest postponing the enforcement of some of the laws of the social model, which includes the new Labour Code, until July 1 of 2017, which would allow saving about 80 million euros. […]
GDP growth slows in Q3 due to shrinking investments
Annual Lithuania’s GDP growth decelerated to 1.7% in the third quarter of this year. Seasonally and working day adjusted quarterly growth decelerated from 0.4% in the second quarter to 0.1% in the third quarter. Household demand remained the main driver of growth, while shrinking investments was the largest drag on growth, Swedbank announced. […]
