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International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Sunday, 28.04.2024, 22:10

Butkevicius: corresponding institutions fight badly against the illegal economy

Danuta Pavilenene, BC, Vilnius, 19.04.2013.Print version
Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius announced that the level of illegal economy in Lithuania has become catastrophic, which might soon make one doubt the competence of heads of institutions fighting smuggling, informs LETA/ELTA, referring to Respublika.

The Government has committed itself to cut the levels of tobacco and fuel smuggling dramatically in the next 3 months. Butkevicius highlighted that this kind of "business" will be treated with "cruel measures". Neither the PM nor Finance Minister Rimantas Sadzius, who was also worried about the falling collection of the value added and excise duty taxes in the first quarter of this year, revealed these measures. Head of the state tax authority (VMI) Modestas Kaseliauskas was asked to explain why the collection of these taxes is shrinking.

 

On Monday the Prime Minister will hold a special sitting on demolishing the network of the contraband network in Lithuania, chiefs of the VMI, the State Border Guard Service (VSAT), Customs Department and other special services will be participating in it. They will be invited to explain why the shadow economy in Lithuania has been growing and what kind of measures will be applied to fight it. Butkevicius would like to "drag out" around 0.5 percent (LTL 562 million/EUR 163 million) of GDP (last year it stood at LTL 112.4 billion/EUR 32.6 billion) from the shadow. Former government led by Andrius Kubilius in 2011 tried to drag out around LTL 1 billion (EUR 290 million) from the shadow economy, but the actual sum of additional budget revenue stood only at around LTL 640 million (EUR 185.5 million). It is thought that Lithuania comes third in the European Union in terms of the shadow economy size with up to LTL 7.5 billion (EUR 2.2 billion) in it.






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