VILNIUS — Lithuanians may soon be able to start small businesses under a new structure that will offer favorable tax schemes and low start up fees, stimulating local economies.

The new business structure type is part of a package being suggested by the government that aims to lower unemployment, reduce bureaucracy and spur entrepreneurship. Lithuania is currently at the bottom of a economic downturn that saw unemployment rise to 13.7 percent in 2009. The measures must to be approved by [private_supervisor]parliament before taking affect.

If a company has less than seven employees and has a turnover under one million litai (€290,000) per year, the micro business category will apply, which would offer value added tax exemptions for revenues under 345,000 litai (€100,000).

The new category will kickstart entrepreneurship, the prime minister’s economic adviser Mykolas Majauskas told Baltic Reports.

“What we want to do is cut the red tape as much as possible and spur on entrepreneurship,” Majauskas said.

Minister of Economy Dainius Kreivys told journalists in a public announcement Monday that the microbusiness would fill the gap between individual traders and big business.

“We want to create a specific status of the company to help solve problems for small businesses,” Kreivys said.

The whole business environment would be streamlined too, the minister said.

“Micro-enterprises could be set up electronically. Accounting is simplified and standardized and corporate taxes are low. They head to the tax office’s website to enter a code, the account number of those people employed, and automatically it will calculate all the company’s tax,” Kreivys said.

Majauskas said that small business would be stimulated to create more jobs and to help the unemployed start their own businesses.

The measures may also help reduce gray market activity, but providing less incentive for business owners to operate under the radar. Part of the reforms, which have to be voted in by Seimas, include lowering start up capital requirements, lowering fees and making information more readily available.

Start up capital requirements for limited liability companies will be lowered from 10,000 litai to 1,000 litai.

“Also, the government will publish more information about where to apply for business licences, where to pay and what to pay and so on,” Majauskas said adding that there would be a bevy of advice on how to run business on the page when it is uploaded.

Local governments would also have the power to grant personal income tax breaks to industries that it sees as viable and worth encouraging.

Under the plan to fix the country’s unemployment debacle, three working groups were set up to work on different parts of the problem. The three groups discussed unemployment benefits and how to maximize the efficient use of payments, the flexibility of the labor code and business.

It is expected that the new regulations will be voted on in the second quarter of 2010. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]parliament before taking affect.

If a company has less than seven employees and has a turnover under one million litai (€290,000) per year, the micro business category will apply, which would offer value added tax exemptions for revenues under 345,000 litai (€100,000).

The new category will kickstart entrepreneurship, the prime minister’s economic adviser Mykolas Majauskas told Baltic Reports.

“What we want to do is cut the red tape as much as possible and spur on entrepreneurship,” Majauskas said.

Minister of Economy Dainius Kreivys told journalists in a public announcement Monday that the microbusiness would fill the gap between individual traders and big business.

“We want to create a specific status of the company to help solve problems for small businesses,” Kreivys said.

The whole business environment would be streamlined too, the minister said.

“Micro-enterprises could be set up electronically. Accounting is simplified and standardized and corporate taxes are low. They head to the tax office’s website to enter a code, the account number of those people employed, and automatically it will calculate all the company’s tax,” Kreivys said.

Majauskas said that small business would be stimulated to create more jobs and to help the unemployed start their own businesses.

The measures may also help reduce gray market activity, but providing less incentive for business owners to operate under the radar. Part of the reforms, which have to be voted in by Seimas, include lowering start up capital requirements, lowering fees and making information more readily available.

Start up capital requirements for limited liability companies will be lowered from 10,000 litai to 1,000 litai.

“Also, the government will publish more information about where to apply for business licences, where to pay and what to pay and so on,” Majauskas said adding that there would be a bevy of advice on how to run business on the page when it is uploaded.

Local governments would also have the power to grant personal income tax breaks to industries that it sees as viable and worth encouraging.

Under the plan to fix the country’s unemployment debacle, three working groups were set up to work on different parts of the problem. The three groups discussed unemployment benefits and how to maximize the efficient use of payments, the flexibility of the labor code and business.

It is expected that the new regulations will be voted on in the second quarter of 2010. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]parliament before taking affect.

If a company has less than seven employees and has a turnover under one million litai (€290,000) per year, the micro business category will apply, which would offer value added tax exemptions for revenues under 345,000 litai (€100,000).

The new category will kickstart entrepreneurship, the prime minister’s economic adviser Mykolas Majauskas told Baltic Reports.

“What we want to do is cut the red tape as much as possible and spur on entrepreneurship,” Majauskas said.

Minister of Economy Dainius Kreivys told journalists in a public announcement Monday that the microbusiness would fill the gap between individual traders and big business.

“We want to create a specific status of the company to help solve problems for small businesses,” Kreivys said.

The whole business environment would be streamlined too, the minister said.

“Micro-enterprises could be set up electronically. Accounting is simplified and standardized and corporate taxes are low. They head to the tax office’s website to enter a code, the account number of those people employed, and automatically it will calculate all the company’s tax,” Kreivys said.

Majauskas said that small business would be stimulated to create more jobs and to help the unemployed start their own businesses.

The measures may also help reduce gray market activity, but providing less incentive for business owners to operate under the radar. Part of the reforms, which have to be voted in by Seimas, include lowering start up capital requirements, lowering fees and making information more readily available.

Start up capital requirements for limited liability companies will be lowered from 10,000 litai to 1,000 litai.

“Also, the government will publish more information about where to apply for business licences, where to pay and what to pay and so on,” Majauskas said adding that there would be a bevy of advice on how to run business on the page when it is uploaded.

Local governments would also have the power to grant personal income tax breaks to industries that it sees as viable and worth encouraging.

Under the plan to fix the country’s unemployment debacle, three working groups were set up to work on different parts of the problem. The three groups discussed unemployment benefits and how to maximize the efficient use of payments, the flexibility of the labor code and business.

It is expected that the new regulations will be voted on in the second quarter of 2010. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]parliament before taking affect.

If a company has less than seven employees and has a turnover under one million litai (€290,000) per year, the micro business category will apply, which would offer value added tax exemptions for revenues under 345,000 litai (€100,000).

The new category will kickstart entrepreneurship, the prime minister’s economic adviser Mykolas Majauskas told Baltic Reports.

“What we want to do is cut the red tape as much as possible and spur on entrepreneurship,” Majauskas said.

Minister of Economy Dainius Kreivys told journalists in a public announcement Monday that the microbusiness would fill the gap between individual traders and big business.

“We want to create a specific status of the company to help solve problems for small businesses,” Kreivys said.

The whole business environment would be streamlined too, the minister said.

“Micro-enterprises could be set up electronically. Accounting is simplified and standardized and corporate taxes are low. They head to the tax office’s website to enter a code, the account number of those people employed, and automatically it will calculate all the company’s tax,” Kreivys said.

Majauskas said that small business would be stimulated to create more jobs and to help the unemployed start their own businesses.

The measures may also help reduce gray market activity, but providing less incentive for business owners to operate under the radar. Part of the reforms, which have to be voted in by Seimas, include lowering start up capital requirements, lowering fees and making information more readily available.

Start up capital requirements for limited liability companies will be lowered from 10,000 litai to 1,000 litai.

“Also, the government will publish more information about where to apply for business licences, where to pay and what to pay and so on,” Majauskas said adding that there would be a bevy of advice on how to run business on the page when it is uploaded.

Local governments would also have the power to grant personal income tax breaks to industries that it sees as viable and worth encouraging.

Under the plan to fix the country’s unemployment debacle, three working groups were set up to work on different parts of the problem. The three groups discussed unemployment benefits and how to maximize the efficient use of payments, the flexibility of the labor code and business.

It is expected that the new regulations will be voted on in the second quarter of 2010. [/private_subscription 1 year]

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