The Lithuanian parliament Seimas on September 27 voted in favour of keeping the current zero VAT rate on district heating for two more heating seasons. The measure, proposed to mitigate a surge in heating bills, is estimated to cost over 110 million euros to the state. The amendments to the Law on Value Added Tax…
From November, Brussels Airlines is discontinuing a direct connection between Vilnius and Brussels, which is home to all the main institutions of the European Union as well as a large Lithuanian community. The company says the suspension is temporary, but some aviation experts doubt it, warning that Vilnius may be left without a connection with…
Dainius Kreivys, the conservative minister of energy, said that the biggest factor in the rise of electricity prices was the tenfold increase in the price of natural gas due to Russia’s “energy war against Europe”. Kreivys answered questions about energy prices and the government’s measures to contain them in the Lithuanian parliament, Seimas, in the…
Several dozen hotel and restaurant owners and managers protested outside the Lithuanian government office in central Vilnius on September 27 over the government’s plans to end VAT exemptions for catering businesses. Lower VAT rates were introduced to prop up the sector during the Covid-19 pandemic and would expire at the end of the year. The…
The Bank of Lithuania has downgraded its economic growth forecast for next year. Instead of the previously planned 3.4%, the country’s economy is now expected to grow by only 0.9%. “The forecast for 2023 is being significantly downgraded. This is mainly related to the weaker household consumption,” said Gediminas Simkus, board chairman of the Bank…
One in five people in Lithuania were at risk of poverty last year, according to data from the Lithuanian Statistics Department. In 2021, the at-risk-of-poverty rate in Lithuania was 20%, according to Inga Masiulaityte-Sukevic, Deputy Director of the Lithuanian Statistics Department. “Compared to 2020, the at-risk-of-poverty rate has decreased by 0.9% and by 2.9% over…
Together with Associated British Ports (ABP), Unifeeder has launched a new service from Klaipeda to the Port of Immingham, UK, according to the company’s release. The new route is a weekly sailing offering faster transit times, with the vessel leaving Klaipeda on Friday and Immingham on Monday. The maiden voyage saw the Elbspring vessel arrive…