Financial Services, Latvia, Legislation, Taxation
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Thursday, 28.03.2024, 13:07
40% reduction in fines issued by Latvian Revenue Service in 8 months
The committee listened to a report from the State Audit Office on fines
issued for tax violations.
According to the State Audit Office, between 2014 to 2016, the SRS has
issued approximately 52,000 fines for a total of about EUR 12 million, but that
only about 53% of these issued fines have actually been paid. The Audit Office
also criticized that this system of issuing fines remains very inconsistent.
Meanwhile, Finance Ministry Deputy State Secretary Ilmars Snucins informed the committee that work is currently
underway to improve the Revenue Service's policies of issuing fines, and that
the State Audit Office's recommendations are planned to be taken into account.
Peleka, in turn, also admitted that there is something not right with the
system of issuing fines, but that the Revenue Service has already taken various
recommendations into account to improve the system.
At the same time, Peleka also said that the Revenue Service has begun to
observe the principle ''consult before fining'' to a greater degree this year,
and thus there has been a 40% reduction in the number of fines issued in the
first eight months.
''We are carefully assessing each individual situation, so that we do not
issue fines for nonsense. However, we should also think about what to do for
those who are not motivated by these consultations, and continue to avoid
paying taxes even after fines are issued,'' she added.