Lithuania: Banks meet with PM Simonyte to decry windfall tax

Representatives from Lithuania’s five largest commercial banks — Citadele, Luminor, OP Corporate Bank, SEB Bank, and Swedbank — met with Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte to express dissatisfaction with the extension of the windfall tax on bank profits, BNS reports. They voiced concerns over the unpredictability of the investment environment and the lack of cooperation between the government and the business sector. The government has extended the windfall tax until 2025 and increased the corporate tax rate to 21% to fund defence spending. Banks paid around EUR 240mn in windfall tax for 2023 and are expected to pay a similar amount in 2024.