Positive Economic Spin Offs for Lithuania

Foreword Lithuania gained its independence in 1991 from the Soviet Union; it is the largest of three states in the Baltic. In 2004 the country joined the NATO and EU. Following the election of its present president in 2014 (Dalia Grybauskaite), Lithuania has regained its reputation of being transparent and has passed judicial reforms, increased its financial security, as well as its energy reserves. Until recent times, they were heavily dependent on Stalwart of natural gases, Russia. In 2016 this changes when Norway overtook this role on completing its largest offshore gas terminal saving the public of a massive burden of 90 million euros in that year alone. Recent Trends Website paskolins.lt has said that despite the volatile regional and global markets, the economy of Lithuania has demonstrated its resilience in full force. In recent years, we see the efforts that have been made to retain effective fiscal management by clearing out corruption and enhancing the commitment to the State; these measures have shown considerable fruits. According to cited information on www.kreditus.eu, the stability of the macro economy was kept under wraps because of limited spending through budgetary consolidation. The labour market in Lithuania suffered tremendously because of its tight labour market; in January 2017, the State introduced a new labour code that would bring in flexibility to this area. Many have speculated what these changes could be; it said that it involved new labour contracts, an increment in the number of legal working hours, a reduction of statutory notice periods, as well as severance payments in the light of dismissals. These herald a new age of Government integrity through a relatively sound framework introduced by Lithuania for the forthcoming years. Stronger Legal Ties It is said that the intellectual property rights in the country have improved vastly, and this is credited by the stronger legal forces and organisations that have come into play. Naturally, being a part of the European Union has helped their judicial independence as well. That being said, the country still has room for significant growth, however, it is on the right path. Scandals in the civil service area in the early part of 2016 marred the public’s opinion of the efficiency of the State and impacted the confidence and image of the political bodies. We see that the indices for Property Rights, Government Integrity has increased to 73.0 and 69.7, respectively while the Judicial Effective remained unchanged at 62.4. The Size of the Government The overall tax for Lithuanians in 29.3% of their total domestic income; their corporate tax and individual incomes rates are 15%. The other forms of taxes they are subject to include the VAT (Value Added Tax) and an inheritance one. Overall the tax burden is said to have decreased by a whopping 86.9 points. Government spending has increased by 64.1 points with an increase of almost 35% of Gross Domestic Product over a duration of three years. Lithuania's budget deficits are about 1.3% of GDP, and the public debt is a little over 40% of same. Green Lights for Business Overall, the framework for Entrepreneurs has become less bureaucratic and more efficient. The new Labour regulations are signaling good times ahead. All these moves have moved Lithuania into a positive stance and will see good times in the long run.