Analytics, Financial Services, Latvia, Legislation, Markets and Companies, Taxation

The respondents were asked questions about various aspects of entrepreneurship, including the factors helping or obstructing sustainable business development. The prevailing opinion was that the owners' knowledge and competence was the most helpful factor while high taxes was the biggest obstruction.

BIB Board Member Guntars Reidzans said that over the past year Latvia has moved down in the World Bank's Doing Business and the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report rankings and business representatives had suggested that greater support to innovations, better investment climate, wider availability of venture capital and adjustments to the tax system aimed at stimulating the labor market would speed up business growth in Latvia.

The Latvian residents participating in the Barometer survey also think that the main obstacles to development of business environment in Latvia are the tax system (62 percent), changing legislation (55 percent) and red tape (51 percent), said Reidzans.

The respondents were asked to name five main factors that would help the company to stay in business for decades and more. Most of the respondents or 55 percent mentioned knowledgeable and competent management, 44 percent stressed importance of a business development plan, 41 percent good treatment of employees and 36 percent regular investments in business development, while 29 percent said business-friendly environment was of utmost importance but 25 percent believed that favorable external circumstances mattered a lot.

Baltic International Bank's Latvian Barometer is a monthly survey examining current processes in areas of economic and social importance.