Budget, Financial Services, Lithuania, Taxation

"On Monday, the Finance Department provided accurate numbers which, of course, are disappointing. By April 1, 2011, all Vilnius city's liabilities of credit, loans, overdue payments of over 45 days or payments, that have to be current payments, stood at 916 million litas (265.5 million euros). The sum is definitely impressive, yet I would not call it tragic," Zuokas said on Tuesday.

According to the mayor, the audit company PricewaterhouseCoopers conducted an investigation as to why the city has accumulated such an enormous debt and the company reached a conclusion that it happed due to national tax policy, informs LETA/ELTA.

"Today, Vilnius city is not collecting enough to satisfy the needs. To speak it in conditional numbers, the Government and the Seimas give 80, while the city, in order to survive, needs 100. Therefore, even former heads of the city cannot be blamed for this situation. Vilnius City Municipality and its residents were not granted 260 million litas (75.362 million euros) because of planning mistakes or, in our view, because of faulty methods of budget formation," Zuokas commented.