Latvia does not want to include in its recovery plan measures that would entail tax hikes - Reirs

RIGA - Latvia does not want to include in its recovery plan measures that would result in the necessity to increase taxes, Finance Minister Janis Reirs (New Unity) said  Friday during a meeting with Celine Gauer, head of the European Commission's Recovery and Resilience Task Force (RECOVER). 

LETA was told at the Finance Ministry that Reirs met with the European Commission's representative to discuss work on the recovery plan, conclusions drawn in the process and further steps.

"The support of the European Union's Recovery and Resilience Facility available to Latvia is extremely important in lessening the social and economic impact from the crisis in the long term. We are determined to make full use of the opportunities offered to us. At the same time, we need to realize that this support will not resolve all our issues as a member state. It has to be regarded in the context of other types of support already available to us," Reirs said.

During the meeting, the Latvian minister noted Latvia's commitment to ongoing structural reforms, primarily those concerning the green and digital transformation. The minister pointed out that the reforms have to be in proportion to the Recovery and Resilience Facility's investments.

The finance minister underlined that Latvia does not want to include in its recovery plan reforms that would result in the necessity to raise taxes. 

Latvia is currently making adjustments to its recovery plan based on the European Commission's comments. Next week, Latvia will open the next round of talks with the Commission to discuss the plan's the interim and end targets.

EU member states are expected to submit their recovery plans to the European Commission for official assessment by April 30, 2021, with Latvia committed to meeting this deadline. Funding from the Recovery and Resilience Facility might become available to Latvia in the second half of 2021.

As reported, the total amount available to Latvia from the Recovery and Resilience Facility in the form of grants is an estimated EUR 2 billion.