„This debate would not be happening if the tax reform had been in place. (&) Now, towards the end of the term, they are trying to put out the fire and find some solutions,“ Skvernelis told Žinių radijas on Friday.
He also said the Cabinet itself was delaying decision-making by looking for sustainable sources to fund defence instead.
„I just find it strange that the Government has played with the discussions so long. (&) Naturally, debates are good, but they cannot go on indefinitely,“ the MP said.
In mid-April, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė chaired a meeting of political parties and businesses to discuss ways to raise Lithuania’s defence funding. After the meeting, the prime minister announced a proposal to launch a special fund to finance additional defence needs.
According to Šimonytė, politicians, business representatives and non-governmental organisations tend to agree on additional defence funding by raising corporate tax and VAT by 1 percentage point each.
Defence funding will account for 2.75% of GDP in Lithuania this year. The country aims to spend at least 3% of its GDP for defence in the coming year.