“Recently suffered storm losses, payments received by the residents of a collapsed apartment building in Vilnius are clear evidence that the decision to insure can become extremely important when special circumstances arise,” A. Armonaitė said on her Facebook account.
“Such a tax would be paid by residents and businesses that insure their property in order to protect it and not have to wait for help from the state or municipality in case of disasters. Those residents who have loans and must take out insurance will also pay, and at the moment it is they who are experiencing serious challenges due to increased loan interest,” she noted.
A. Armonaitė emphasized that due to inflation and geopolitical challenges, various types of insurance have become more expensive, some even more than 100 percent, and “contract tax” is not the only way to finance defense.
“Possibly, we could collect an additional 50 million from such a tax next year. euros. I’m just reminding you that we have already raised the profit tax and excise taxes on fuel to finance defense, we still have opportunities to borrow. Such a contract tax is not the only way to finance defense, far from it,” explained the chairman of the Freedom Party.
“I would recommend the coalition partners to critically evaluate the consequences of this proposal for people who are responsible and insure their property.” Especially in the context of recent events that encourage us to think more and more about the need for insurance. Hedging against risks is responsible and it should be encouraged, not limited,” she assured.
At the end of July, the Ministry of Finance submitted to the state institutions and business partners for coordination the draft Law on Security Contribution, which proposes to introduce a 10% tax on part of the insurance contracts. fee. Such a contribution would be paid from 2025. in July, and the funds collected from it would be allocated to the State Defense Fund.
The draft law states that insurance premiums other than life insurance contracts, with the exception of compulsory vehicle insurance, would be taxed. This means that housing, comprehensive car insurance and additional health insurance would be affected.
During the spring session of the Seimas, when considering sources of additional defense funds, among them was the introduction of insurance contracts for part of the tax. However, this proposal was removed from the final draft of the State Defense Fund and its sources of funds.
As Andrius Romanovskis, director of the Association of Lithuanian Insurers, has said, 10 percent taxation for part of the insurance contracts must be considered as a consumption tax. According to the representative of insurers, the adoption of such a law would make the services of different sectors – especially transport – more expensive.
According to the calculations of the Ministry of Finance, the Security contribution already in 2025 would generate 50 million euros, and from 2026 – 100 million euros.
2024-08-13 05:32:53