The Cabinet of Ministers is expected to approve a bill amending the Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism and Proliferation Financing (AML/CTPF) Act. Although the bill has yet to undergo parliamentary review and may therefore be modified, we suggest you familiarise yourselves with the proposed changes, as they will significantly affect persons governed by the AML/CTPF Act that make foreign exchange cash purchases or sales, and legal arrangements, including trusts.
As the Year of Knowledge begins, we are opening registration for the 16th season of our “Tax Foundation Course”. This is a training programme created by PwC Latvia experts that invites people with various backgrounds to become familiar with the Latvian tax system and learn how to apply taxes properly under the direction of highly qualified and experienced lecturers. This programme has been completed by more than 1,100 company representatives and individuals wishing to enhance their understanding and consolidate their knowledge of tax matters.
Latvia’s current transfer pricing (TP) rules came into force back in 2018, bringing changes to the structure of TP documentation (TPD) and to materiality thresholds that require taxpayers to prepare a specified form of TPD. Many taxpayers are still confused about the right way to measure the amount of a controlled financial transaction, which results in an obligation to prepare, or to prepare and file, a specified form of TPD if the taxpayer has no other types of controlled transactions. This article explores the procedure for determining the controlled transaction amount (CTA) for various types of financial transactions according to Latvian TP rules and international law, as well as looking at the practice in Lithuania and Estonia, the most similar economies to Latvia.
The Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Act requires companies to include their non-business expenses in the taxable base for a particular tax period. Since the tax period is one month, various situations can have you confused about the right period to report such expenses. This article examines four different situations.
In a market with growing business pressures and increasingly intense competition, companies are looking for ways to optimise their resources and stay competitive. Outsourcing the accounting function is a good solution that offers many advantages, while at the same time posing challenges and risks. This article explores the advantages and disadvantages of an external accountant to help companies better understand this option and make an informed decision about taking it.
The current economic challenges, such as high inflation, scarce resources and pressures to increase profitability, continue pushing businesses towards a global dilemma: either motivate your workers to stay on with a pay rise and then say goodbye to your profit, or cancel your plans for higher pay and perks and then lose skilled workers. This dilemma might have you looking for some more efficient types of employer’s financial support with a low or no tax burden, such as non-taxable fringe benefits. This article offers an overview of exempt fringes and other useful tools employers can use to support their workers in the Baltic States.
Businesses often undergo changes during their lifetime as the national economy and legislation also keep evolving. Latvian reorganisation procedures had remained essentially unchanged for quite a while. Effective from 1 June 2023, the Commerce Act has been amended to change the procedures for conducting national and cross-border reorganisations of commercial entities. These amendments are quite extensive, so this article explores just a few aspects of changes to the national reorganisation procedures.
The world has changed magnificently over the last 100 years as technological progress and democratic principles have made society more open-minded, tolerant and equal. As these things move forward, there are still social challenges that need to be taken care of. The gender gap remains a relatively stable phenomenon to this day, even though females have gained equal rights with males. In 2010, social entrepreneurs established The EQUAL-SALARY Foundation, a non-profit organisation, to fight for pay equity around the world. In words that are easy to understand, the Foundation presents data from the International Labour Organisation’s Global Wage Report 2018/2019, which states that globally women are paid 20% less than men on average. In the light of publication of the EQUAL-SALARY Foundation’s annual report, we summarise key takeaways.
On 13 July 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved and issued Rule No. 407, which governs implementation of the EU Cohesion Policy Programme for 2021–2027 to promote innovative business development in small and medium-sized Latvian enterprises. The approved total financing for an assistance programme to be implemented by the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA) is EUR 73.38 million.
Regulation (EU) 2023/956 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) came into force on 17 May 2023. This so-called “carbon tax” applies from October 2023, with companies subject to CBAM being liable to file their first CBAM reports in January 2024. Carbon emission certificates will have to be purchased from 2026. In this article we are explaining in detail which companies are subject to CBAM.
We often spend a lot of time in Microsoft Office creating and formatting presentations and writing emails and reports. The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) means office workers can now save time on such tasks. We have written before about one of the most popular AI tools – ChatGPT and GPT-4, its operating principles, uses and restrictions (see our article on GPT-4 here). In this article we are continuing our tour of new technologies, looking at Microsoft as a leading AI creator for business purposes and its brand new AI assistant, Microsoft 365 Copilot.
In June 2023, Parliament passed two extensive amendments to the Taxes and Duties Act effective from 1 January 2024. This was followed by a publication on the website of the State Revenue Service (SRS) detailing the new system’s objectives and explaining the meaning of taxpayer grades.
