„We received a proposal from the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. As a member of parliament, a citizen, and someone who has worked in finance and understands some of the financial aspects, I think there is a chance that taxes will have to change – we certainly cannot rule it out. What kind of taxes, in what way, when and by what percentage? It would certainly be too early to say,“ the MP told LRT television.
According to Jeglinskas, if the share of defence spending increases, the public debt is also likely to grow. However, the politician said, the country's freedom is more precious.
„Our fiscal position is apparent. We are certainly one of the least indebted countries in the European Union, so we must grow that buffer. The question is whether now is the time to force this growth. I think so because the threat picture is very clear, and in order to finance those things, the debt will grow“, said the Chairman of the NSGK.
„Is this ideal? Clearly, it is not ideal, but then the question is, what is the price of freedom? I think the price is very high and has to be paid. We don't want to pay 20%, 30%, we want 5–6% now so that later on, when it comes to war, when we look at Ukraine now, where all the budget collected pays for the war, we don't want that. Solutions are needed, and now we need to look for ways of financing to cover this“, he added.
ELTA recalls that the VGT, which met on Friday last week, agreed to allocate 5–6% of GDP annually to the country's defence for 2026–2030. According to the country's President, Nausėda, the 5.5% of GDP funding should be maintained over four years.
The President pointed out that this level of defence funding could be achieved through a reallocation of the country's resources but stressed the need to avoid tax increases.
According to the VGT decision, additional allocations are needed to form an army division in Lithuania by 2030. The October VGT concluded that the division will not be able to reach full operational capability by the agreed-upon deadline with current funding.
The VGT approved the proposal to form a national army division as early as May 2023.
