Financial Services, Latvia, Taxation

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Thursday, 28.03.2024, 10:47

Latvian Government prepares to tackle tax reform next week

BC, Riga, 11.08.2020.Print version
An increase of the tax burden as a result of forthcoming tax reform cannot be supported, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins (New Unity) told journalists after a meeting with coalition partners, writes LETA.

Karins promised to do everything to ensure that the government can hear the Finance Ministry's report on possible tax changes next week, thus "dispelling myths" and providing full information about the reform plans to the public. 


The prime minister said that the Finance Ministry's proposal includes a mandatory minimum social contribution for all, so that everyone was entitled to social assistance, for instance, in the event of job loss. At the same time, there are no plans to change the standard tax regime. 


"We are not talking about tax hikes. What we are discussing is an internal redistribution of taxes, because we know that there are three things we need to provide: predictable funding for healthcare and teachers' salaries and a solution in relation to the Constitutional Court's ruling on guaranteed minimum income," the prime minister said. 


As for the New Conservative Party's calls for a debate on real estate tax, Karins said that the issue has not been discussed in the context of tax reform. 


"I will not support simple tax hikes, because the goal is to improve the system," the prime minister, adding that broad discussions are still expected on the issue of the new cadastral values that can cause taxes on many properties grow disproportionally. 


The government has to adopt the Finance Ministry's informative report to prevent "speculations and scaremongering", Karins said, noting that people lack deeper understanding of the discussions going on in the government. 






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