Company briefs

Latvia’s ruling coalition supports a gradual increase in the micro enterprise tax, to 15 percent by 2017, reports LETA. Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters following the coalition council’s meeting on Oct. 10 that the council supported a proposal by the independent Saeima members group to increase the tax. The prime minister added that All for Latvia-For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK might vote against the proposal though. The person who proposed raising the tax, MP Elina Silina, explained that the micro enterprise tax would be increased from 9 percent now, to 11 percent in 2015, 13 percent in 2016 and 15 percent in 2017. Silina’s proposal also envisages increasing social insurance contributions by micro enterprises.

Lithuania’s Minister of Finance Rimantas Sadzius says that new amendments to the law on income tax will not place a heavier burden on business, reports ELTA. According to the new amendments, businesses will have to pay 50 percent of their profit to the state, and 50 percent of their profit could cover any losses suffered in the past. According to the minister, this proposal was drafted with regard to the fact that banks in Lithuania that were loss-making during the crisis, after becoming profitable, did not pay income tax. However, Sadzius denied that these amendments were directed specifically against the banks.