Lithuanian lawmakers on November 10 held their first hearing of the 2023 state budget bill and returned it to the government.
Ministers will now look into MPs’ proposals and will later submit the adjusted budget bill to the Lithuanian parliament Seimas.
According to Seimas Vice-Speaker Paulius Saudargas, the second hearing would take place no later than in 15 days.
Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said the budget vote would show whether lawmakers had confidence in her government.
“I look at it as a budget vote, but a budget vote provides a very clear answer for me whether the government has the Seimas’ support,” she said.
“This is not a vote of no-confidence in the government because if I wanted to test confidence, I would come and ask the Seimas to vote,” the prime minister added.
The budget adoption is one of the most important laws of the political season, she said.
Some opposition representatives said they would not support the bill if their proposals were not considered.
Gintautas Paluckas of the Social Democratic Party said their main budget proposal was to raise people’s income by raising the non-taxable income level to the existing minimum monthly wage.
The parliamentary Committee on Budget and Finance has rejected all MPs’ proposals to allocate additional funds for various purposes from next year’s budget. (LRT/Business World Magazine)
