According to the Pay Transparency Directive 2023/970 (“Directive”), the concept of work of equal value covers four aspects: skill set, accountability, necessary effort and working conditions. As the Directive is to be implemented by June 2026, these aspects have become topical. This article deals with  the legislature’s guidance.

Companies that operate at a loss for an extended period of time remain in the sights of tax administrations, including the Latvian State Revenue Service, especially if these companies are part of a multinational group of companies and carry out controlled transactions.

This article looks at a number of court cases in European countries that show how complex and difficult it is for companies and tax administrations to scrutinise the transfer pricing of loss-making companies.

The closing part of last week's Article.

The topic of annual tax returns becomes a hot one in the public eye between late February and mid-March in Latvia. Whereas the State Revenue Service (SRS) works to strengthen its IT systems by implementing queues to ensure a smooth operation of its Electronic Declaration System on the first day of tax return submissions. Some taxpayers dive into the “lottery” as early as the end of February, while others either do not bother or are not in a rush to file their returns. Is it true that the outcome of filing an annual tax return depends on a person's luck or astrological sign?

On 17 October 2024, the Sustainability Disclosure Act (“ŠDA” or “Law”) came into force, which sets out the framework for sustainability reporting and adopts the provisions of the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD”). The law aims to provide publicly available and comparable information on the impact of the activities of legal entities on sustainability aspects, including environmental protection, social rights, human rights and aspects of corporate governance, including anti-corruption and anti-bribery, as well as information on how these issues affect the development, performance and condition of legal entities. This information should be included in the sustainability report.

We have previously informed our readers about the impact of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (“CBAM”) on companies importing goods (one of the most recent articles for Mindlink subscribers is available here). In short, from October 2023, companies (and economic operators) based in the European Union are subject to reporting requirements on the embedded emissions of goods imported from third countries that fall within the scope of the CBAM. Conversely, under the CBAM framework, as of next year, only companies that have obtained the status of registered CBAM reporters will be allowed to continue importing these goods.

Recognising that compliance with the CBAM requirements may create additional administrative and financial burdens, the European Commission (EC) has prepared a draft amendment to Regulation 2023/956 establishing a carbon border adjustment mechanism providing for amendments to the existing regulatory framework and allowing for an exemption from the regulatory requirements for most importers.