The Baltic banking group, Luminor Bank, posted a pre-tax profit of EUR 273.2mn in 2023, which was up 92% from EUR 142.4mn in 2022, The Baltic Times reported. The Estonia-based group’s annual net profit amounted to EUR 194.7mn, which was up 56% from EUR 124.7mn a year earlier. Luminor attributed the sharp rise in profit…
Farmers in Lithuania staged a protest rally in the country’s capital, Vilnius, on 23-25 January 2024, Baltic News Network reported. Around 3,000 farmers gathered in front of the government building with over 1,500 tractors and forestry trucks blocking the city’s main street. The farmers oppose a rise in the excise duty on LPG, a ban…
Lithuania’s State Defence Council (VGT) has agreed to buy German-made Leopard 2 tanks for a planned new army division, Kestutis Budrys, chief national security adviser to President Gitanas Nauseda, announced, BNS reports. The council tasked the Defence Ministry to begin negotiations with German manufacturers and other countries interested in procuring the equipment. Also, the council…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has called a meeting of the State Defence Council (VGT) for 23 January 2024, BNS reports. The meeting will discuss a strategic threat assessment from the Lithuanian intelligence services, the structure of the national defence system, and the economic and financial measures for building an army division. Lithuania plans to establish…
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…
Retailers in Estonia expect declining sales in the first half of 2024 amid lower consumer confidence, ERR reports. Many consumers plan to go shopping in neighbouring countries due to the rise in the VAT rate from 20% to 22% as of 1 January 2024, according to a Norstat poll for Citadele bank, BNS reports. The…
Estonian President Alar Karis has vetoed amendments to the land tax act, which were passed by the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, in December 2023, ERR reports. The President asked the Supreme Court to declare the amendments unconstitutional. Karis said that he used his veto because the government linked the adoption of the amendments to a…
Estonia’s Minister of Defence, Hanno Pevkur, said that the Estonian Defence Forces believed that the country’s defence spending could rise to 4.5% of GDP, ERR reports. However, Pevkur emphasised the need for a “reasonable limit” due to investments in health care, social welfare, and education. He acknowledged the desire for increased spending on defence given…
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…