The Seimas – the final vote on the 2024 budget

Finance Minister Gintarė Skaistė said on Monday that she hopes that the budget will be adopted – according to her, the ruling coalition should unanimously support it.

However, after the meeting of the coalition council, Aušrinė Armonaitė, the chairperson of the ruling coalition’s partner Freedom Party, said on Monday that if it fails to secure additional votes for the support of the Civil Union Law in the Seimas, the party will also evaluate its obligations to the ruling party. According to her, the party faction will make the final decision on whether to support the budget on Tuesday morning.

At that time, the leader of the faction in the Seimas, Vytautas Mitalas, said that the faction positively evaluates the Government’s latest decisions to allocate additional funding – they took into account the suggestions of “free people”.

G. Skaistė will inform the Seimas on Tuesday about the Government’s latest decision to increase next year’s budget expenses by another 650 thousand. euros, increasing the net borrowing limit. In this way, the Cabinet of Ministers approved some of the proposals of Seimas members from the ruling factions to provide more funds for Public Procurement, Communications Regulation, Consumer Rights Protection Services and the Migration Department.

MPs’ requests for additional funding will also be considered on Tuesday in the Seimas. Most of them were submitted by MPs belonging to the opposition, and the Government did not approve them.

In order for the proposal to be approved by the Seimas, at least half – 71 – MPs must vote for it.

The leadership of the ruling conservatives obliged the members of the faction in the Seimas to vote only for those proposals for the state budget that are agreed with the Government.

Before the vote on the budget, the Seimas will decide on the amendments to the Income Tax Law, which propose to extend income tax benefits for investment projects and motion pictures until the end of 2028.

State income is expected to reach 16.98 billion next year. EUR, and expenses – 20.6 billion. euros. Its deficit will reach 3 percent. gross domestic product (GDP).

This is the penultimate budget prepared by this Government and the last one to be adopted by the Seimas of this term.