| Abstract [eng] |
This thesis analyses changes in the tax policy of the eighteenth Government of the Republic of Lithuania under conditions of polycrisis. The aim of the thesis is to identify the factors that determined why some tax policy initiatives were adopted while others were not. The analysis is based on a modified Advocacy Coalition Framework. Three main explanations are distinguished: polycrisis and the response paradigm, EU influence, and political leadership and political attention. The role of business organisations is also included and analysed as a horizontal mechanism of problem framing. Using the process tracing method, the thesis analyses legislative process documents, Government and Seimas materials, European Commission documents, media sources, and semi-structured interviews with actors involved in the policy process. The study shows that polycrisis did not, by itself, ensure tax policy change. In the case of the broader tax reform, several competing response paradigms prevailed, which fragmented political attention. In the case of the Defence Fund, under the dominance of the security challenge paradigm, polycrisis helped mobilise political actors and enabled the adoption of tax decisions. EU influence through the Recovery and Resilience Facility acted as an important source of pressure, but it was not sufficient without domestic political support and leadership. The influence of business organisations manifested itself as a horizontal mechanism of problem framing, which, at different stages of the process, either strengthened or weakened the legitimacy of tax decisions. |
