Depends how you define lying. If you mean saying things that you know to be untrue then I would disagree that it's necessary.

I read a book about lying around 7 years ago and it was making the argument that it's only justifiable when used to prevent greater harm, the classic example there being Nazis on your door asking if you have Anne Frank in the attic. Other than that it's always wrong and often completely unnecessary. Applies to white lies as well.

The only single time I've lied since then was reflexively telling a beggar that I didn't have any cash. Again, completely unnecessary. In fact I've not lied for so long that lying doesn't even come to mind anymore as an option when handling a situation. People can tell that they're not going to like what I'm about to say next before I even say it because they can see me hesitate and carefully choose my words. They don't always like hearing it but not one person has cut ties because of it - rather the opposite. They now come to me when they want the truth.

Additional benefit of this is that it makes me carefully consider my own behaviour so that I don't need to lie about it later.

Again, not lying doesn't mean speaking everything that's on your mind. It simply means not saying things you know to be untrue.