In his words, the country's tax system is still a thriving "cattle farm" and it is in the state's interest to put it in order.
"We believe there are gaps in our tax system as we have a very large VAT gap, we also have a "cattle farm", and our real estate tax base is also very narrow, and our country collects very little in environmental taxes. These are the many things that can and should be done better sooner than later," Simkus told reporters on Friday.
"Perhaps, we could do some changes to the tax system that would come into force after some time, with some transitional periods. But we cannot avoid these issues and not to address them. We have to put them on the table, discuss them and make decisions," the central banker said.
He says he cannot justify delaying the tax reform on the grounds of the ongoing war in Ukraine, economic slowdown and inflation.
"There is always something going on in life but we have to decide what is important for us as a country because a well-functioning tax system is the foundation of our public finances," Simkus said.
He earlier called for a debate on property and environmental taxes and he was also against the proposal to extend indefinitely existing VAT relief for hotels, which was set to expire this year.
In an interview with BNS in early October, Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste said her ministry had prepared a tax relief review, but she did not believe at the time it should be put forward for discussion and adoption amid the existing economic uncertainty.
Meanwhile, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has suggested that the Lithuanian government should cut tax relief measures and introduce environmental taxes. Earlier this year, the government , however, dropped plans to introduce a car pollution tax.