Latvija in brief - 2010-08-26

  • 2010-08-25

There are 190 companies and private individuals that each owe the state more than 300,000 lats (428,500 euros) in taxes that have accumulated a total debt of 142.4 million lats as of Aug. 1, according to data from the State Revenue Service, reports LETA. As of Aug. 1, the company ZTT was the largest tax debtor with a debt of 4.2 million lats, followed by Applied Researches with 4.2 million lats and Buve interiors 1, with unpaid taxes of 3.7 million lats. Madacom was the fourth largest tax debtor as of Aug. 1 with a debt of 2.9 million lats, followed by Jurijs Sabalins (2.7 million lats), Guntars Kramens (2.6 million lats), Andrejs Danengirss (2.6 million lats), the company Metalex (2.5 million lats), Vjaceslavs Muhins (2.2 million lats) and Eriks Mingazetdinovs (2.2 million lats). Altogether, tax debts of 33 companies and private individuals exceeded 1 million lats as of Aug. 1.

People who receive monthly salaries of up to, but not exceeding, 300 lats (428 euros) after tax make up 67.2 percent of employed persons in Latvia, show data from the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB), reports Nozare.lv. 42.4 percent of employed persons in Latvia receive monthly wages of up to 200 lats after tax, whilst 24.8 percent receive monthly wages between 200 lats and 300 lats after tax. Out of the persons who receive up to 200 lats per month, 25.3 percent of them receive Latvia’s minimum wage – 180 lats after tax, or less. 19.4 percent of employed persons in Latvia receive monthly salaries between 300 lats and 500 lats after tax, whilst 6.7 percent receive monthly salaries between 500 lats and 1,000 lats.

Unemployment in crisis-hit Latvia fell to 19.4 percent in the second quarter, from 20.4 percent in the previous three months, show official data, reports LETA. The number of job-seekers in Latvia stood at 225,800, figures from Latvia’s national statistics office showed. Since the end of 2008, unemployment has risen sharply as Latvia found itself locked in the deepest recession in the 27-nation European Union. It peaked at 20.4 percent in the first quarter of this year. Latvia inched out of recession in the first quarter of this year with 0.3 percent growth compared with the previous three months. Growth of 0.1 percent followed in the second quarter. The country’s center-right coalition government, which is bracing for a general election in October, has said it expects the economy to pick up steam in the second half of the year.