„Today, the Republic of Poland is an example in many areas – their decision to allocate significant amounts of money to defence, well before most European countries committed to allocating at least 5% to this, was a very inspiring example. Indeed, Poland's social policy is also an example that we can follow,“ said Nausėda on Monday after the opening of the reconstructed section of Via Baltica with the Polish president.
According to him, this is a matter of national security.
„Lithuania is well aware of the demographic challenges – this is currently a matter of national security. I confirm once again – this is a matter of national security, because demographics can have catastrophic consequences in 30–50 years,“ the president said.
He said that this is why he took the initiative to apply an additional tax-free income amount (NPD) for each child raised from 2027, which the Seimas have already approved.
„I would have been happy if this had been implemented as early as 2026, but, as they say, better late than never,“ said Nausėda.
Although the head of state would like to take additional measures to encourage families to start families in Lithuania, there are currently insufficient budget funds for this.
„Taking such a big step forward as Poland has done would undoubtedly entail significant budgetary costs, which would be difficult to implement today due to ambitious goals in financing defence and active social policy,“ the president said.
He says that the Presidency is considering income tax relief for people raising children
Even though the state is currently unable to take even stronger measures to encourage birth rate, Nausėda says that options for doing so in the medium term are being considered.
„We will not stop at the first step (increasing the NPD–ELTA) and are currently considering the possibility of implementing a personal income tax (PIT) exemption of up to 1 average wage (AW) in the medium term. I understand that we cannot implement this in one year, but it is important to have clear goals and a comprehensive family support policy,“ explained the president.
According to him, simply increasing the NPD or PIT relief cannot solve demographic problems, so he will seek to address these challenges comprehensively.
„A single tax privilege or individual decision will not change the demographic situation. However, suppose we seek to implement a housing strategy comprehensively, apply tax breaks, and generally create more favourable conditions for families to start families not only in large cities but also in the regions. In that case, I believe that we can certainly achieve positive results, especially since we have already achieved such results in the past,“ concluded Nausėda. I believe that we can definitely achieve positive results this way, mainly since we have already achieved such results in the past,“ concluded Nausėda.
ELTA reminds us that the president's proposed additional NPD for families bill was passed by the Seimas in June, along with a series of tax changes.
From 2027, an income tax relief of EUR 87 per month will be applied for each child, i.e., EUR 1,044 per year (after taxes – EUR 208.8 per child).
It is estimated that the relief will cost around EUR 87 million per year.