The Lithuanian government is “not ambitious” enough in executing its target for reducing the budget deficit to below 3 percent of gross domestic product next year, said Mindaugas Leika, chief economist at Lithuania’s central bank.

The government should expand wealth taxation by introducing taxes on real estate to boost revenue, Leika said in a video interview with the magazine IQ published on its website. It should also increase the fight against the “shadow economy” and boosting efficiency at state-owned companies, he said. 

The government is aiming to narrow the 2012 budget shortfall to 2.8 percent of GDP next year from an estimated 5.3 percent shortfall this year. The Cabinet must submit its 2012 budget plan to the parliament by Oct. 17. 

Lithuania should consider closing some of its 23 universities to help trim budget spending and raise the quality of the education system, Leika said.  

Reducing health-care benefits for the wealthy may also help balance the budget, he said. 

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-26/lithuania-government-not-ambitious-with-budget-economist-says.html