Analytics, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Markets and Companies, Taxation

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Friday, 29.03.2024, 08:35

Latvia 24th in Paying Taxes 2015 ranking, ahead of neighbors

BC, Vilnius, 26.11.2014.Print version
In the latest Paying Taxes 2015 ranking prepared by the World Bank Group and PwC, Lithuania is placed 44th, by one place lower compared with last year. Estonia has dropped by 12 spots to 28th, while Latvia by 3 – to 24th, writes LETA/ELTA.

In the ease of paying taxes Lithuania surpasses such European countries as Austria, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Romania and Portugal. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Ukraine are beyond the first hundred of 189 countries involved in the research.

 

The total tax rate in Lithuania is 42.6%, i.e. greater than the global average of 40.2% and more than the European Union and the European Free Trade Association average of 41%. The total tax rate in Latvia is 35% and in Estonia it is the highest of all three Baltic State standing at 49.3%.

 

In Lithuania, the labour tax accounts for 35.2%, profit tax for 6.1% and other taxes for 1.3% of the total tax rate.


According to the study, the total tax time (time needed to declare and pay taxes for an average company) in Lithuania is 175 hours, slightly less than the average time in Europe (176 hours) and considerably less than the average global figure (264 hours). The total tax time in Latvia is 264 hours and in Estonia merely 81 hours.



 

The average Total Tax Rate fell by 1.3 percentage points. Excluding the replacement of cascading sales taxes in Africa with VAT, the Total Tax Rate still falls by 0.2%age points. This is made up of an increase in profit taxes of 0.1%age points and a fall in 'other' taxes of 0.3%age points.

Labour taxes and mandatory contributions, and profit taxes continue to be equally important in the profile of taxes borne for the case study company.

43% of economies now have electronic filing and payment systems which are used by the majority of companies.

 

The pace of reform accelerated during the financial crisis, slowed in more recent years, but improvement continues. 379 reforms making it easier and less costly to pay taxes have been recorded since 2004, 105 of these relate to electronic filing and payment.

 

Reforms continue to be made in Africa, while progress is less evident in South America. South America now has the highest average time to comply and Total Tax Rate.

 

Central Asia & Eastern Europe is still the fastest reforming region with a major focus on improving administrative systems. All three sub-indicators have fallen with the number of payments and time to comply both now below the world average.






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