We have written before about a taxpayer’s duty to file with the State Revenue Service (SRS) a multinational enterprise group’s country-by-country (CbC) report under section 15(9) of the Taxes and Duties Act or a statement of the reporting company and its tax residence. This article explores how to correctly disclose information in the statement in the case of a non-standard fiscal period.
The Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on people’s habits, with restrictions affecting many events, including contests. More and more public events are taking place as we return to normal life. Various contests are being held, and individuals taking part win prizes. What taxes apply on such cash and non-cash prizes? Who is responsible for reporting this income and paying taxes? Is it the individual or the company that holds the contest and pays the benefit?
As Russia continues the war in Ukraine, the US and the European Union (EU) together with other countries keep increasing the size of sanctions imposed on Russia.
At the EU summit held on 30–31 May 2022, the European Council agreed on the sixth package of sanctions against Russia that will mainly apply to crude oil and petroleum products supplied to EU member states. Yet the Council of Europe has agreed a temporary exception for crude oil supplied through pipelines. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has said that the restrictions included in the package will in fact stop around 90% of EU oil imports from Russia by the end of this year.
As the size of the sanctions grows, confused companies are having more and more questions about how to cope with the increasing sanctions burden, whether a company is supervised by particular regulatory bodies, and whether the current sanctions rules and guidelines provide for setting up an internal control system to manage sanctions risk.
Productivity has always been high on the agenda in organisations. Remote and hybrid working during the pandemic has brought some new advantages as well as complex challenges. When trying to put our processes back on track, we often focus on the process itself and how to streamline it, yet people play a big role in the productivity puzzle.
With Covid-19 restrictions being lifted in Latvia and across Europe, companies are returning to their normal working arrangements, including staff education and team building events. Event organisers, too, are resuming their business activities. The VAT treatment is clear as long as the customer is a Latvian company and the event is held in Latvia. But what happens if the event is held or the customer established in another EU member state? This article explores key aspects of event organisation services.
Employers commonly use GPS geolocation devices to monitor their vehicles or equipment and to analyse fuel consumption, mileage, driving time, idle time, parking time, usage statistics etc. European case law has introduced tighter rules and requirements for personal data processing associated with GPS tracking. There are certain restrictions that companies using these devices for business purposes should be aware of.
With the summer holidays approaching, student employment is an option. This article explores tax aspects to be considered if a student wants to do paid work during the summer holiday, how such income is treated, and what tax relief is available to parents.
Our experience suggests that taxpayers carrying out the obligation to submit transfer pricing (TP) documentation to the State Revenue Service (SRS) may suddenly find themselves in an awkward situation, as the functionality of the Electronic Declaration System (EDS) prevents them from uploading a screenshot file that supports their benchmarking study because of its size. So the document fails to reach the SRS and puts the taxpayer at risk of defaulting on statutory requirements for information to be included in TP documentation. This article offers a solution to this problem.
As the cost of living is rising day by day, people are struggling to embrace the need to cut carbon emissions as a priority. Tax policy is one of the tools capable of affecting our decisions. So it is very important to devise a long-term tax strategy that would encourage us to change our daily habits and switch over to green energy.
The member states may even introduce a specially reduced rate of VAT (down to 0%, without restricting the supplier’s right to deduct input tax) on supplies of solar panels to private homes and public buildings. A reduced rate may also be applied on supplies of electricity, district heating and cooling, and certain biogas, as well as on the supply and installation of certain very efficient low-emission heating systems. Latvia will have to stop applying a reduced rate on supplies of wood used as fuel by 1 January 2030.
This article explores some of the tax implications for people installing solar panels at their homes.
A company that suffers inventory loss has to forecast a shrinkage rate for the financial year. This may have corporate income tax (CIT) implications. Since the company is allowed to adjust its CIT return for the last month of the financial year without incurring late fees before it files its annual accounts, this article explores the CIT treatment of inventory loss.
By decision of Parliament Speaker I. Murniece, the double tax treaty (DTT) and its protocol have been suspended indefinitely from 16 May. The decision makes unavailable from this date the DTT and national reliefs that provided for an exemption on the basis that Russia had a DTT with Latvia. In this article we explore how this decision affects paying taxes. And we note that the Latvia-Russia social security agreement is still in force.
On 20 April 2022 the Regional Administrative Court again ruled on a dispute between a Latvian company and the State Revenue Service (SRS) about refunding overpaid personal income tax in a situation of double taxation. This court ruling follows the Supreme Court Administrative Division’s ruling No. A420282416 of 9 July 2020 (SKA-150/2020). The Regional Administrative Court’s anonymised ruling is available under case No. A420282416 (archive No. AA43-0096-22/15).
We have written before about significant differences in measuring total transactions made with related parties during the financial year, to be reported on line 6.5.1 of the corporate income tax (CIT) return, and controlled transactions that determine whether the taxpayer becomes liable to prepare and file transfer pricing (TP) documentation with the State Revenue Service (SRS).