Associations Investors’ Forum, Unicorns Lithuania, the Confederation of Lithuanian Industrialists, and the Lithuanian Business Confederation today submitted an official appeal to the Ethics and Procedures Committee of the Lithuanian Parliament, requesting an investigation into potential violations of the Parliament’s statute and the Basic Law on Legislation, committed by the Budget and Finance Committee during the consideration of legislative proposals related to tax reform.

According to the organizations, during the Committee meetings held in May–June 2025, the opportunity for interested public groups to participate meaningfully in the legislative process was restricted. Although it was initially stated that decisions on proposals would be made on June 9, the Committee decided to review only the proposals submitted by members of Parliament, ignoring the comments provided by the public and associations that were not even included in discussions or put to a vote.

“Committees cannot choose which proposals are convenient for them and which can be ignored. The obligation to consider all submitted suggestions is a fundamental part of the legislative process. When this principle is violated, we face a crisis of legislative integrity,” says Andrius Romanovskis, President of the Lithuanian Business Confederation.

“During the tax reform process, business became noise that the authorities consciously ignored. As if we were annoying flies rather than key participants in the country’s economy. Such behavior can only be described one way – as deliberate sabotage of partnership,” emphasized Vidmantas Janulevičius, President of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists.

The business organizations draw attention to the fact that the following legal acts were violated:

• Article 49 of the Parliament’s Statute, which establishes the duty of committees to consider all proposals;
• Article 3 of the Law on Basic Principles of Legislation, enshrining principles of openness and transparency;
• The Lobbying Activities Law, which guarantees lobbyists the right to submit proposals and participate in the legislative process.

“We hope for respect for the democratic process,” says Vytautas Šilinskas, Executive Director of Investors’ Forum.

The associations request the Committee to:

• Investigate whether the Committee violated the Parliament’s statute and other legal acts;
• Require the Committee to issue an official response regarding the ignoring of public proposals;
• Specify what measures will be taken to rectify the situation.

“We trust the Committee will take a principled stance to defend the transparency of parliamentary proceedings and the public’s right to be heard when making the most important tax policy decisions,” the joint statement from the associations concludes.