Proposing to exempt estates from property tax

After the Parliament rejected Liberal Simon Kairis's proposal to exempt mansions from property tax last autumn, he will resubmit improved amendments to the law in the spring session of the Parliament.

S. Kairys will propose to apply the tax exemption to managers and owners of heritage objects, both private and legal persons, who carry out cultural activities there, are open to the public and have concluded a preservation agreement with the Department of Cultural Heritage (KPD).

„The exemption from property tax would be based on quite strict rules. It is not enough to start managing the property, it must already be open to the public. I think that would be a great safeguard. Basically, I am calling for help for all those managers of buildings who have not just bought them, have them and do not know what to do, but for those who are restoring a heritage object, carrying out cultural activities and have concluded a storage contract with the KPD," the deputy head of the Liberal Movement group in the Seimas, S. Kairys, commented on the project to Elta.

He disagreed with the criticism sometimes voiced that the aim is to exempt rich landlords from the tax.

„People often imagine that a person, for example, who owns an estate is some kind of lord of the manor. No! If he has bought an estate, the estate essentially becomes his life, and it is certainly not all roses. I would say: if you have a mansion, you have a huge problem, and you have to devote almost your whole life to it in order to restore it, to maintain it", – said S. Kairys.

He notes that the ruling majority has declared that it will take care of heritage. However, budgets for this, as well as for the heritage protection programme, from which many heritage projects receive funding, are said to have been "slashed", with some important projects being put in a drawer.

„If we cannot find more money in the budget to help heritage management,  if we cannot take decisions that will improve the heritage situation, let us at least help the owners of such objects and, above all, those who are already managing heritage objects, such as manors. I think that the state should really help those owners who have functioning sites, who develop cultural activities there, who are open to the public. In my opinion, this is what the state can and must do," Kairys said.

By the way, he notes, municipalities can still decide to impose a minimum property tax on such properties.

„But with all the analysis, it is clear that there are practically no municipalities that will help the developers of these heritage sites in any way. Here, apparently, state intervention is needed," Kairys believes.

If the Seimas approves, natural and legal persons would be exempted from real estate tax – all those who pay real estate tax.

S. Kairys hopes that the amendments to the Law on Real Estate Tax, which he intends to submit to the spring session of the Seimas, will be approved by the parliamentarians.

ELTA recalls that last October, 36 MPs voted in favour of this initiative after its submission, 10 against and 35 abstained. However, despite the unfavourable vote, the project was not rejected and was returned for further development.