Seimas started considering amendments that should promote investments in Lithuania. This week, the Ministry of Economy and Innovation (EIM) successfully submitted two packages of draft laws to parliament.
Amendments to the Investment and Profit Tax Laws aim to supplement the criteria for a large-scale project, so that companies with high added value employing few employees can avoid paying profit tax on their income.
The Parliament accepted them for consideration with 77 of its members voting in favor and 4 abstentions. There were no objections.
According to EIM's proposal, companies that would create 5-20 jobs in Lithuania within 149 years (in Vilnius - from 20 to 199) and pay at least 20 employees a quarter higher salary than the average of the municipality could be considered a large-scale project. The remaining jobs must be paid at the average wage.
"If we're talking about robotics, high added value, in most cases with high capital investment, maybe you don't need 200 people, you need 20 very highly skilled workers who can do essentially the same job." This is a fairly clear trend that is present all over the world," on Tuesday The Seimas the amendments were presented by Vice Minister of Economy and Innovation Karolis Žemaitis.
The drafters of the amendments hope that the more flexible rules will attract more new high added value Lithuanian or foreign capital companies to Lithuania - 2-3 projects each year. According to the Ministry's calculations, the companies would create an average of 85 jobs each and pay at least 1860 euros in monthly remuneration.
Currently, at least 20 million are recognized as large projects. EUR investments that create at least 150 jobs and maintain them for at least five years. In Vilnius, these criteria reach 30 million. euros and 200 jobs.
"We propose to refine the existing mechanism, because in reality we see that in most cases highly qualified large-scale investments do not require so many jobs," said the vice minister.
At that time, with the package of Land and 3 other laws, the EIM provides a new centralized model for the reservation of state land, which should help to attract more large-scale production investments to Lithuania. It is proposed to create a special list from which investors could choose vacant plots of state land.
The project aims to increase the competitiveness of Lithuania, according to the EIM, by attracting too few investments due to the lack of available and ready land plots. It was supported by 70 members of the Seimas, no one voted against it, and 12 MPs abstained.
"We often hear the "chicken and egg" principle - will the investor or the plot come first. Now we see that often, especially in the regions, we have to offer a plot that would be attractive to investors. But the current legal regulation does not allow the reservation and development of plots of state land for such a need", said K. Žemaitis.
EIM proposes to make it possible to reserve vacant plots of state land outside cities and towns, if their lease or use contracts expire. Meanwhile, the municipality would be given the right to use the reserved plot free of charge, to prepare it for the implementation of the investment.
According to the vice minister, in Lithuania by 2030 about 1,3 thousand should be created. supply of investment plots in hectares.
"We see that by 2030 the expected demand is about 1,3 thousand. hectares. At the moment, neither the current industrial territory nor the free economic zone can offer such a need", emphasized K. Žemaitis.
According to him, after the introduction of the model, it is planned to offer 2-3 plots to investors within 4 years.
"We are talking about plots larger than 20 hectares," said the deputy minister.
It is assumed that after the plot has been reserved, it can continue to be temporarily used according to its purpose (for example, for agriculture) until the development of the plot has started or until the construction permit for the investment project has been issued.
Only foreign companies that have concluded an investment agreement with the Government or its authorized institution, as well as the municipality, will be able to reserve plots.
If the proposed procedure is adopted, according to the ministry, it will be assessed how many state plots of land suitable for investment projects will be reserved by investors, how long it will take for foreign companies to start operating there, whether there will be enough funds to prepare the plots, etc.
