Analytics, Financial Services, Latvia, Markets and Companies, Shadow economy, Taxation

She stresses that this year, gross wages have grown by 9% in Latvia, which can be explained with the fact that that a number of dishonest businessmen have ceased underground activities and are operating legally now.

The proportion of gross wages of EUR 700 and more has reached the pre-crisis level, Petersone says.

She believes that one of the main reasons for the shadow economy is the way people treat it. "If you take a ride in public transport in any Western European country, you will never hear people discuss ways to evade taxes. For us, this is routine," Petersone says.

She believes that "tax evasion is a plague, which will decline throughout generations."

As reported, the proportion of shadow economy in Latvia could be around EUR 5 billion, director of "SSE Riga Sustainable Business Center" Arnis Sauka estimated.