Seafarers

“There are sailorsThe problem of the authorities to pay attention to third -party fleets, ”says Gintautas Kutka, Executive Director of the Lithuanian Ship Owners Association (LLSA).

The new order, which will come into force next year, provides that the person’s annual income will be summed up and that they will be subject to 20, 25 or 32 % depending on their size. Rates: up to 36 VMU – 20 %, 36 to 60 VMU – 25 % and 60 VMU – 32 %.

Farmers on the shore even before the Seimas made a decision for themselves, they will only be subject to two rates – 15 and 20 percent. Seafarers who work in the distant seas of the world have failed to do so. However, this innovation will not affect all Lithuanian sailors.

According to G. Kutka, Executive Director of LLSA, nothing changes to those of our country’s sailors who work on ships of Lithuania, other European Union (EU) countries and European economic spaces – they remain a zero PIT rate.

And sailors working on third -country ships and declaring income have so far had to pay 20 percent. GPM, and now intermediate rates depend on the amount of income.

“It is possible that some seafarers working on third -country vessels with high income will be subject to higher income tax. This is a huge problem that has not yet been resolved and the authorities need to pay attention.

Lithuania has signed contracts with some countries to avoid double taxation. For example, if a seafarer works with a Panama flag on a boat and its owner pays taxes for him in Germany by declaring his own pajamas You may inform you that he has paid certain taxes and that he will no longer have to pay them in Lithuania for the second time.

But if the sailor worked on boats that sail, say, with the flag of the Liberia or Marshal Islands, and no taxes, because he may have to pay not 20 percent. PIT, and 25 or even 32 %, depending on what his annual income was.

“Seaments do not burn the desire to pay such high taxes, so some of them become Latvian residents. Latvians have a set” ceiling “. The amount obtained by multiplying the minimum wage by 2.5, they pay both Sodra and PIT. Imagine the huge difference when you have to pay 20 percent in Lithuania. from the whole salary, and in Latvia only almost 2 thousand. euros.

We lose, leaving them on the ice in respect of the seafarers who work in third countries – they have to pay PIT but are not socially insured. Many sailors pay only compulsory health insurance (PSD) from their own funds, and they do not think about retirement insurance, ”explained Kutka.

Mr Kuka examined the Croatian model. In our country, only health insurance is required if you have not declared your departure from Lithuania, and in Croatia you also have to pay retirement insurance.

“25 % of the salary is a catastrophic amount, there is nothing to discuss. In my opinion, people who do not have an employer in Lithuania have to reduce the PIT and make a mandatory Sodra fee. In this case, the person would receive a basic pension when retired.

And now neither this nor that. Some sailors do not have the opportunity to pay Sodra. And such people will not be pulled out of the shadow. They try not to show their income. I understand them in part. They say that there was no work in Lithuania, they did not use it there, ”Kutka described the situation.

Until Saulius Skvernelis reform in Lithuania, the PIT was 15 percent, and now it is 20 %. “We all raised salaries, indexed.

But no one has raised salaries for Lithuanian sailors who work abroad, third -country ships, and instead of 15 percent. I also had to pay 20 percent. About the fact that there is a category of people who earn abroad, bring money to Lithuania and spend it here, not thought, ”recalls the LLSA executive director.

As far as pension is concerned, the problem of the daily subsistence allowance of sailors on Lithuanian ships has not been resolved so far. They are not included in their wages, no “Sodra”, so sailor pensions are low.

“This is a very ambiguous question. The sailors themselves are not unanimous, some earn less, others more, some ceilings are fine, others do not. The union does not want a daily allowance, we do not want to have the costs increase for us. This is a very difficult question, ”says LLSA Executive Director.

Petras Bekėža, deputy chairman of the Lithuanian Seamen’s Union, says that the sailors have not applied to the Union due to the alleged change in PIT.

He informed that the Lithuanian Seamen’s Wage Studio is currently being completed, which, among other things, is compared to salaries of seafarers in other countries.

In preparation for proposals to the Government, Lithuanian shipowners are introduced to the studio and their opinion is expected.

“We strive to avoid exclusivity depending on which ships of Lithuanian sailors work on, we will be asked to unify wage taxation and to equal the same conditions for all both PIT, Social Security Tax and PSD,” Bekėža told Western Express.