Culture, Latvia, Markets and Companies, Taxation

The artists plan to shroud up to two dozen monuments in Riga, including some that have been on display for decades, the AFP writes.

"We are protesting against increasing taxes on creative work at a time when the coronavirus has already halted almost all cultural events... reducing income," the Latvian Union of Artists said in a statement.

Finance Minister Janis Reirs told AFP that the government has held "tough conversations" with artists', writers' and filmmakers' unions regarding the planned tax change.

"I understand that sculptors are among the most affected, since they have huge material costs for every work they create," he said, without proposing to alter the tax plan.

Latvian creatives had previously protested the plan by piling bricks in front of parliament after talks with the finance and culture ministers that sculptor Aigars Bikse said "was like talking to a brick wall."

Statistics show that some 39,000 people in Latvia could be affected by the proposed changes.

Latvia's economy is expected to shrink by six percent this year, according to the latest IMF estimate.