The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning technology has led to their increased use in tax administration across Europe and in Latvia. The adoption of AI has proved to be particularly effective, helping tax authorities prevent tax discrepancies and fraud, improve taxpayer experience and increase the effectiveness of internal processes. This article explores various recent examples of how AI is used to improve tax administration and boost tax revenues in Latvia and elsewhere in Europe.
Tax evasion is a global problem that seriously threatens the stability of national economies and breeds social inequality. According to the OECD, the tax gap amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars that governments fail to collect each year. This failure limits the affected country’s ability to finance key social and economic projects and increases inequality in society. To address this problem, more governments are adopting digital solutions, including e-invoicing, which helps them improve tax compliance and minimise tax evasion.
‘Don’t hire yourself!’ is a campaign-like slogan resonating loudly across the Nordic countries this autumn to warn employers against giving in to the temptation to hire only people like them and to encourage them to cast their net wider for the talent they need. This article highlights the manifestations and consequences of bias in candidate selection, puts forward arguments for recruitment that is open to diversity and inclusive in the light of the latest EU demographic trends, and makes specific recommendations for guidelines and activities in the recruitment process.
Data is hugely significant in the business world, yet its true value lies not only in volume but also quality. Bad data can hinder your business growth and lead to wrong decisions and missed opportunities. This article explores the practical aspects of data quality management to help you discover the true potential of information and make decisions based on data that is reliable and accurate.
A participation budget allows the public to directly influence the spending of some of the municipal revenues generated by taxes paid by municipal residents. You can take part in planning the development of your municipality and realise your own ideas.
Cost segmentation is crucial for businesses aiming to maximise profitability and enhance operational efficiency. Categorising expenses helps companies identify cost-saving opportunities, optimise resource allocation and make informed strategic decisions. This process provides a detailed understanding of various cost drivers and their impact on the overall financial health of your organisation.
The approach of 2026 sees businesses actively getting ready to accept a key change to the process of accounting – adoption of structured electronic invoices (e-invoicing). Despite the challenges this move brings, it allows businesses and accountants to optimise the processing of invoices and make it more transparent. This article explores how e-invoicing will change the accountant’s work, as well as looking at the main advantages and disadvantages.
The market economy operator principle (also known as the ‘private investor test’) is an analytical tool the European Commission uses to prevent companies from obtaining advantages through the State intervening in a particular market. This requires a complex economic analysis and legal justification to assess whether a hypothetical private investor would make a comparable intervention in the particular market on the same conditions as the State. If the answer is yes and the transaction is consistent with the market, this is unlikely to be considered state aid because the other party (company) has not obtained an economic benefit it would not have obtained under normal market conditions.
When adopting a supplier management model, companies look for the most efficient ways to optimise relationships with their suppliers, make their supply chains more efficient and cut their costs to continue receiving the best goods and services within the most appropriate time frames.
Estonia has drawn up new taxation plans that will considerably change the financial landscape for businesses and people from 2025. This article looks at the proposed defence tax and motor vehicle tax, as well as other significant tax increases affecting various sectors.
Since the current Latvian transfer pricing (TP) rules came into force back in 2018, companies are used to preparing and submitting a TP file in the second half of the current year. For most taxpayers, the financial year is the calendar year, which in conjunction with the TP rules means a TP file for the previous financial year must be submitted by 31 December of the current year.
The State Revenue Service (SRS) has drawn up a plan for dealing with situations where individuals have not reported their income in full. This year the SRS has identified about 70,000 individuals with a difference of at least EUR 20,000 between their bank account turnover and reported income. In September the SRS plans to send out notices asking those individuals to revise their income and report it in full. Sending such letters is not a new practice – the SRS has used them for several years to check that a person reports all taxable and non-taxable transactions. A letter arrives through the SRS’s electronic reporting system. The SRS has 30 days to wait for a response from the person giving reasons for the discrepancy or adjusting their annual tax return if they find the discrepancies between the bank account turnover and the tax return arise from unreported income.
If we are to successfully integrate artificial intelligence (AI) in society, first of all we need to cross our moral threshold. We can see a common attitude that “the technology is not ready, it’s not capable of doing what I need”. However, we often expect AI to act independently like a human. The technology can do a lot of things, yet we need to find out if we are able to see its added value. The computer does what we tell it to do, rather than what we want it to do.
