Lithuania 7.3

Private funding for culture is regulated by the Law on Charity and Sponsorship (1993), the Law on Patronage (2018), the Law on Personal Income Tax (2002) and the Law on Corporate Income Tax (2001) (see chapter 4.1.4).

Data about the sponsorship provided and received by legal persons are collected by the Lithuanian State Data Agency. According to this data, legal persons working in the fields of creative, arts and entertainment activities, libraries, archives, and museums received more than 7.7 million EUR donations in 2023. Compared to other areas, these activities receive three times less support than education, and almost 9 times less than sport, amusement and recreation activities. However, over the years, support for culture has grown, and in 2023, cultural institutions received about 1.5 times more support than in 2015.

Table 43: Support received by legal persons in various fields in 2015–2023 (in EUR thousand)

Source: Officials Statistics Portal

According to the Article 34 of the Law on Personal Income Tax, after the end of the tax period, the tax administrator must, at the request of a resident of Lithuania and in accordance with the procedure established by the Government, transfer to Lithuanian entities that are entitled to sponsorship under the Law on Charity and Sponsorship an amount not exceeding 1.2 % of the income tax payable on the basis of an annual income tax return. According to the data of the Lithuanian State Tax Inspectorate, in 2024, at the request of the residents of Lithuania, the inspectorate transferred a total of EUR 34 231 311 to 15 721 recipients entitled to receive sponsorship. 1 258 of them were artists holding the status of beneficiary of support (see chapter 2.3). They received EUR 405 874 support, i.e. 1.18% of the whole amount. The data on how much of this amount went to cultural organisations is lacking, as the Lithuanian State Tax Inspectorate provides data only according to the legal form of the beneficiary.

The amendment of the Law on Corporate Income Tax in 2013 stimulated the private funding of Lithuanian cinema. Article 17² of the Law states that in calculating corporate income tax, funds granted free of charge to a Lithuanian filmmaker for the production of a film or a part thereof in the Republic of Lithuania may be deducted from the taxable income (more about the Law see chapter 4.1.4). According to the information of the Lithuanian Film Centre, the Film Tax Incentive is increasing each year. Since 2014, 561 productions have benefited from the Lithuanian Film Tax Incentive by getting a total of EUR 107,8 million in investment for film production. The scheme was used by 111 foreign films, 106 co-productions, and 344 national films. Investments for film production were granted by 368 local companies in amounts ranging from 1 thousand to over 1,6 million euros. In 2024, Lithuanian business companies invested more than 18 million euros through this scheme.

The Law on Patronage, adopted by the Seimas in 2018, has not yet made a significant impact on private funding for culture. The Law provides that the title of a national patron is awarded to a person who has provided at least one million EUR in support of the patronage project(s) at the state or more than one municipality level. A title of patron of a municipality is awarded to the person who has provided at least 150 000 EUR in support of the patronage project(s) in the municipality with a permanent population of 25 000 or less, and in case of the municipalities with more than 25 000 permanent residents, the title of a municipal patron is awarded to a person who has provided at least 250 000 EUR support for the implementation of the sponsored project(s) at municipal level. In 2023, a new version of the law was adopted, introducing a new category of patrons – community patrons. The title of Community Patron will be granted to a natural or legal person whose total contribution to a sponsored project within one year is no less than EUR 50 000.  The Government assesses the compliance of the projects with the requirements of this Law, recognises the projects as appropriate to patronage, grants the title of the national patron and adopts decisions on the loss of the title of the national patron on the proposal of the Patronage Council. In 2018, the Patronage Council awarded the first title of national patron for the one million EUR support for the Balbieriškis Church restoration project. By 2024, a total of 18 patron titles had been awarded: 3 national patrons, 13 municipal patrons, and 2 community patrons. However, only 4 patrons supported cultural institutions, while the others contributed to various scientific and social projects.