Political analysis (PEST) Lithuania (0)

Tax policy
After regaining independence in 1990, Lithuania is a fully functional parliamentary democracy. The chief of state is the president , and the head of the government is the premier . The president is directly elected by the people and serves a 5- year term . The parliament , known as the Seimas, has 141 members who are elected for 4-year terms. Of these , 71 are directly elected by the people and 70 are elected by proportional vote .
The tax burden, at some one-third of the GDP is moderate by international standards and will further be reduced as the liberalization progresses. These are mainly income and value -added taxes .
Tax revenues come from a variety of sources . Goods that are imported into Lithuania face import duties that range from 10 to 100 percent (but average 15 percent on most goods). The highest tariffs are on tobacco, automobiles, jewelry, and gasoline.
The personal income tax level is 33 percent with rates of between 10 to 35 percent on supplemental income from investments or interest dividends.
Labour law
Essential political economic and legal reforms started after the independence of Lithuania in 1990. Since then the legal system has been reformed to meet the demands of the social and economic changes brought by the return to democracy and the free market economy system.
The population of Lithuania is 3.4 million, with a labour force of 1.6 million. Unemployment has been low, but has increased to almost 10 per cent during 2009. All employees in Lithuania have equal employment rights, regardless of race, colour , gender, age, disability or sexual orientation.
The five -day working week with two rest days is the standard established under the law. According to the Labour Code working time may not exceed 40 hours per week and the duration of daily working time must not exceed 8 working hours. Maximum working time, including overtime, must not exceed 48 hours per 7 working days.
The Government sets the minimum wage periodically. The Lithuanian national minimum wage is 800 litas (3600 EEK) a month .
Environmental law
The environmental laws of the Republic of Lithuania preserve fundamental principles of modern environmental protection, preventive actions, source of harm, integration, the pollution taxes and sustainable development.
There are several taxes on State Natural Resources and pollution.
The Law on Pollution Tax establishes that tax objects include emissions , certain products specified by the law, and packages with contents specified by the law.
General requirements for waste prevention record keeping, collection , storage, transportation, utilisation and disposal to prevent its negative effects on the environment and human health are established in The Law on Waste Management. This law provides that the waste holder has to manage waste himself or transfer it to a waste manager. Enterprises , which during the discharge of their economic-commercial activities generate waste, must sort it according to the procedure established by the government or an institution authorised by it.
The Law on Environmental Protection establishes the basic engagements of the user of natural resources which are suitable for developing economic activities: such as: to estimate the possible environmental influence of its economic activities at its own expense, to accomplish measures eliminating or reducing negative environmental influence, to compensate for environmental damage caused by unlawful activity , etc.