Lithuania will begin issuing defence bonds after 1 October 2024, Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste announced, BNS reports. The defence bonds will have a maximum interest rate of 2%, which is lower than on savings certificates. The lower rate will ensure that the state borrows for defence at a rate that is cheaper than the market…
Lithuania’s ministries of defence and finance are developing a mobile application to enable public donations for national defence, aiming for a summer rollout, BNS reports. Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste said that the app would allow for both periodic and one-off payments, similar to NGOs helping Ukraine. Earlier, the government rejected a proposal on voluntary donations…
Estonia’s Ministry of Finance plans to issue bonds specifically for Estonian citizens for the first time, allowing small investors to benefit from a fixed interest rate and trade the bonds on the Nasdaq Tallinn stock exchange, ERR reports. Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev says that the aim is to diversify the state’s funding sources and provide…
The Estonian government plans to split the state-owned energy group, Eesti Energia, into three separate companies, Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev announced, ERR reports. He said that the plan was to list shares of network operator Elektrilevi and renewable energy producer Enefit Green on the stock exchange. However, Võrklaev said that he was no longer in…
The Estonian government has approved draft legislation to introduce an annual car tax and a vehicle registration fee, ERR reports. Under the plan, the new law will enter into force as of 2025. The amount of the car tax and the registration fee will depend on the vehicle’s emissions and age as well as weight…
The Latvian government will discuss the listing of state-owned companies and municipal enterprises on the stock exchange in January 2024, LSM reports. The first company to be listed will be national air carrier airBaltic. Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens said that the list would include other companies as well. Enterprises that may be listed include telecommunications…
The Latvian government does not plan to make major changes to taxation in 2024, Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens assured, LSM reports. He said that now was not a good time to make changes in VAT, labour taxes, personal income tax, or corporate income tax. However, the Ministry of Finance will propose raising the excise duties…
The Estonian government has agreed on the state budget for 2024, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas announced, ERR reports. Under the agreement, the government will introduce no new taxes in addition to ones implemented earlier. The government will not impose a new tax on commercial banks, which will instead pay more taxable dividends. Also, the government…
Lithuania risks losing millions of euros in EU funds if key reforms, including a tax reform, are not implemented, European Commission (EC) Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis warned, LRT reports. Dombrovskis will discuss the progress of the tax reform package with Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte and Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste in Vilnius on 7-8 September 2023. Dombrovskis…