The world is facing significant and increasingly urgent challenges that are affecting individuals, organisations, governments and society alike. These trends are coming fast and impacting decision-making today. The challenges facing business leaders are significant and complex, with a substantial rise in the expectations people place on decision-makers as leaders.
Entering into contracts for services is an inevitable part of business, but this cannot be undertaken without fully assessing inherent risks. Over the years the courts have developed sufficient case law allowing us to make conclusions about how they approach situations that involve assessing the nature of a legal relationship to determine whether the contract is one for services or one of employment. This article explores some of the case law that prescribes the conduct of parties entering into either type of contract.
Since the adoption of a minimum rate for mandatory national social insurance (NSI) contributions, certain industries have seen an increase in the number of functions being outsourced. Companies are also consolidating their jobs to replace any part-time workers that were not socially insured for at least the minimum monthly wage. This article looks at extra work in detail.
Latvia saw a productive autumn in terms of changes to corporate governance rules. On 11 November 2021, Parliament passed amendments to the Public Person’s Shares and Companies Governance Act, effective from 8 December 2021, requiring large central and local government companies to apply corporate governance principles and prepare various statements in this area.
The European Green Deal and net zero carbon emissions are hot topics in Europe and globally, with implications for Latvia’s environmental protection policy, particularly affecting companies that produce or import iron and steel, cement, fertilisers, aluminium, and electricity.
To mitigate the economic impact of Covid-19, the government is supporting the private sector with various measures that financially help businesses cover some of their short-term losses. Yet it is very important for the businesses to see opportunities for future growth, which often comes down to the availability of financing for development, improvements and conquering new markets.
A share premium represents an amount that is paid in addition to the nominal value of a share but is not credited to share capital. The face value rarely represents the true value, so a share premium helps the company set a fair payment for its shares and reflect their true value in various share dealings.
We have already commented on the corporate income tax (CIT) treatment of flow-through dividends and looked at personal income tax (PIT) relief available to an individual receiving a dividend. This article explores potential pitfalls in the tax treatment of flow-through dividends if a change of shareholder takes place shortly before the company decides to distribute a profit.
The global tax scene has undergone some historic changes and keeps changing. This has caused multinational enterprise (MNE) groups to revise their global business models and take steps to stay competitive. Facing the evolution of technology, environmental changes and the impact of the pandemic, MNEs are beginning to revise and transform their value chains to make their business even more efficient and profitable.
Paper documents such as invoices and waybills tend to be mislaid or submitted to the accounts department late, leading to inaccuracies in accounting records and tax returns, as well as late payments. Mandatory electronic documents could eliminate these faults.
As opportunities for digitalisation evolve, more and more companies are interested in supplying and acquiring services remotely over the internet. For example, ads are placed in news portals and e-mails. All that virtual data has to be stored somewhere, new apps are being created for customer authorisations and payments, and various other services are supplied with the help of information technology. Which of those services qualify as supplied electronically? What difficulties tend to arise in applying VAT on such services?
Our Flash News editions of 14 May 2019 and 21 May 2019 looked at the significance of working capital in a company’s business. This article explores when and why we need to assess working capital in a transfer pricing analysis.
During its lifetime a company often has to adapt to new circumstances arising from its internal changes or external changes such as legislative amendments. The first thing that comes to mind when hearing the word “reorganisation” is change, something different, something being transformed, rebuilt, or improved. And that makes sense because a reorganisation means substantial changes in the company that are commonly undertaken to simplify or change the group structure, to expand its business, or, conversely, to split off lines of business.
Employment offences commonly lead to an administrative penalty, yet employers with no practical experience of the National Labour Office’s administrative offence proceedings do not always have a clear picture of how a penalty is determined and what principles apply. This article explores the main stages of a penalty and ways to challenge it.