More than 4,000 people gathered in Vilnius’ central Cathedral Square on Sunday to protest against the proposed universal property tax.
Protesters from across Lithuania waved national and municipal flags and held signs with slogans such as “What’s next – a tax on air?”, “Selling out the Lithuanian people for European millions,” and “My home is my fortress.”
Two screens were set up near the monument to Grand Duke Gediminas, where clips from TV reports about the property tax were shown before the event officially began.
“Instead of collecting taxes from oligarchs, they’re trying to tax ordinary people,” protest organizer Raimondas Simaitis told reporters. “Our specific request is that residential property should not be taxed, as it was purchased with money on which we’ve already paid taxes, including loan repayments.”
“Residential property is the place where we must be absolutely untouchable,” he added.
MP Valius Azuolas also attended the protest, and representatives from the Nemunas Dawn party, part of the ruling coalition, announced they would join.
After the protest ended around 6 p.m., Jevgenijus Liepis, head of public order at the Vilnius police, said the event had proceeded without major incidents.
“Everything went smoothly, no violations were recorded, and participants expressed their opinions in a civilized manner – it was quite friendly and positive,” Liepis told BNS on Sunday evening.
According to police estimates, around 4,000–4,500 people took part in the rally.
‘No one is attacking us’
Janina, a working pensioner from Lentvaris, told BNS that taxes in Lithuania should not be changed at all.
“Our whole tax system is a mess,” she said. “Salaries are the lowest, pensions are the lowest, and they want to raise taxes.”
Stasys, a Klaipėda resident working abroad, said he opposed the property tax because “soon we’ll have to pay for everything.”
“We already pay VAT, fuel taxes, and road taxes. Our roads are so bad, it’s impossible to drive,” he said.
The government’s plan would allocate half of the funds raised from the proposed universal property tax to the Defense Fund, with the other half going to municipalities.
“No one is attacking us,” Stasys said angrily. “It’s the government that’s attacking us.”
Vidas, a 67-year-old Vilnius resident, told BNS that, in principle, he supports the proposed changes but believes the tax revenues should be used exclusively for national defense.
Asta Salvaitienė, 49, said that although the proposed property tax would initially be small, “every few years there’ll be a property revaluation, and those amounts will increase.”
Signatures collected against the tax
A tent was set up at the edge of Cathedral Square to collect signatures against the proposed property tax. A line of people had already formed before the protest began.
One of them, Remigijus Kaminickas from Šakiai, told BNS that the government is violating the Constitution by trying to introduce a universal property tax.
“A person’s home is inviolable. It seems the Constitution doesn’t apply to those in the high echelons of power,” said the 47-year-old, who currently works in the United Kingdom.
According to Simaitis, the signatures are being collected so people can later be contacted when initiating amendments to the property tax law in parliament.
“Once we have the signature sheets, everyone will be notified, and we’ll gather 50,000 signatures for the legislative amendment and submit it to the Seimas,” Simaitis said. “I’ll then be eager to look each MP in the eye who votes against this amendment.”
“And I promise every MP who votes for the property tax that, before the next election, their posters will hang on every lamp post,” he added.
Not the first protest
The Finance Ministry is proposing to expand the property tax base, taxing residential and other non-commercial properties valued over 40,000 euros per person or 80,000 euros for two co-owners.
The proposal also includes a 50 percent reduction in tax for a primary residence, applying to the portion of a home’s value up to 450,000 euros.
If the amendments are approved, a 0.1 percent property tax would apply to residential, recreational, garden, garage, and other non-commercial properties valued between 40,000 and 200,000 euros. A 0.2 percent rate would apply to values up to 400,000 euros, 0.5 percent up to 600,000 euros, and 1 percent for properties worth more than that.
Currently, property is taxed progressively at rates between 0.5 and 2 percent, but only for properties worth more than 150,000 euros, or 200,000 euros for those with three or more children.
Simaitis organized a similar protest in the fall of 2023 when the then-government was considering the introduction of a universal property tax.
At that time, around 3,500 people gathered outside the parliament, according to police estimates.
Simaitis, an active participant in various protests, has attracted law enforcement attention.
A pre-trial investigation was opened against him after he burned a fabric resembling an LGBTQI flag during a pride march in 2024. However, the investigation was later dropped as no grounds for criminal charges were found.
Last July, police also collected information about a similar incident during a protest outside the parliament but ultimately decided not to open a pre-trial investigation.
Source: BNS
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