CIT will not applied in Latvia in some cases !

Optimize taxes in Latvia from 2013

Starting from 2013, CIT will not be applied to non-residents’ paid and received dividends. This regulation will not apply to dividends that are paid to low-tax or non-tax state residents. There will also be a central CIT regime on income and losses from sales of shares, except sales of tax or non-tax state shares.

These are good new for businessmen who plan to invest in Europe and have not decided where to invest. If you see that with forming company and registering company in Latvia you can save on taxes, please visit our website in section on company formation and company registration.

Latvia pays back remaining 500 million Lats to International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Latvia pays back a loan to International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Using a successful emission of bonds on international financial markets with an all-tie lowest interest rate Latvia makes next step and pays back the loan to IMF before schedule. This is an important event for Latvia’s economy in general and foreign investors. As a result of this transaction, Latvia will save several million LVL, which will not be used in interest payments, but instead will be invested in the development of our country.

The payment of the IMF loan will be performed using the resources gained from the December 5 bond issue. As it is known, Latvia issued bonds worth $1.25 billion with a fixed interest rate of 2.750% annually.

Latvia received a loan from IMF worth 820.2 million LVL as part of the international loan program.

In accordance with the loan repayment schedule, Latvia began repaying the general amount in March 2012. By September 14, Latvia had paid back 149 million LVL.

It should be added that the international loan program lasted for three years and secured 7.5 billion EUR for Latvia. Latvia used a bit more than half of this amount – 4.5 billion LVL.

Visas to Latvia, Schengen

Visa Facilitation Agreements

Citizens of countries which have signed visa facilitation agreements with the EU can have their short-stay visa applications simplified. This applies to citizens of:
- Russia
- Ukraine
- Georgia
- Republic of Moldova

This also applies to citizens of the following countries if they do not hold a biometric passport*:
- Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
- Serbia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Albania

* Biometric passports and travel documents are integrated with identifiers that establish a reliable link between the genuine holder and the document. These identifiers consist of a facial image and fingerprints. The integration of biometrics in passports and travel documents helps to improve document security and to prevent falsification of documents

Citizens from these countries holding a biometric passport do not need a visa.

More information about immigration you can read in section on Immigration.

Business club in Norway

Latvian entrepreneurs are going to establish Latvian business club in Norway, Oslo.

Latvian embassy in Norway informed that Latvian entrepreneurs who do business in Norway and Norwegians who are interested to establish business in Latvia met there. There will be shared experience of different business types and professions.

Entrepreneurs agree that it is necessary to establish such business club and one of objectives will be to support and promoto consultations for new entrepreneurs to take right decisions for the sustainable development.

More about company formation in Latvia you can read in section on company formation.

Bank accounts in Latvia, Europe

Bank accounts in Latvia, European Union

There can be several reasons to open bank account in Latvia:
- temporary bank account before forming and registering Latvian company
- operative bank account for company
- bank account for private person

Before registering Latvian company there in some cases it is necessary to open temporary bank account in Latvian commercial in which must paid money for share capital. After registering company in State register of enterprises, the same bank account will be changed to operating account.
Temporary bank account could be opened also with power of attorney given by founder or founders.

We provide opening bank account remotely for private persons and for companies in some Latvian bank where we have agreement more information you can get in section company formation.

Rrelieved activities of Latvian investors in India and Indian investors activities in Latvia

There will be relieved activities of Latvian investors in India

To promote entreprenuership in Latvia and India Ministry of Finances accepted law project on agreement of government of The Republic of Latvia and government of The Republic of India about avoding of double taxation and of avoiding of payment taxes of income taxes. More about taxes you can read in section accounting services.

Now Latvian and Indian investors are obliged to pay taxes only according the tax laws and tax regulations in the second country. Another country can change tax rates and also taxes calculating formulas and procedures. At the moment there are no guaranties to investors about unchanging of taxation in longer period, and that results to inability to plan investments, pay off and profit in second country. This agreement will relieve activities of Latvian investors in India and activities of Indian investors in Latvia, and in total it will promote attracting of foreign investments, it will make stable investment environment and it will put in order taxations according to international taxation standards.

Purpose of this agreement is to provide secure payment of taxes to both India and Latvia investors and that  tax system is not impacted by changes in other countries laws and regulations as well as make stable basic of cooperation of state institutions of both countries and of course to remove possibilities to avoid of paying taxes.

With this agreement it will be more stable and more secure taxation regime to Latvian and Indian investors related to incomes from entrepreneurship and to other incomes such as dividends, interests, copyrights and reward to technical services which are defined in agreement and regarding those to which are set up maximum limits.

It is certainly said that in country where one has got dividends, interest payment, copyright payment or reward for technical services taxation can be not more that 10% from total amount.

More about company formation you can read in section on company formation.

Latvia prepares for eurozone accession on 2014

Latvia prepares for eurozone accession on 2014

While Poland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic have shelved plans to join the common European currency anytime soon, Latvia announced that it wants to become the 18th eurozone member on January 2014.

Recently, Poland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria indicated that they would hold off on joining the single currency until the eurozone resolves its debt crisis. According to their accession treaties, all 12 members of the EU enlargement of 2004-2007, most of them from Central and Eastern Europe, have the obligation to join the euro as soon as they are ready.

Estonia joined the euro in January 2011 and has seen its economy grow.

In Lithuania, a non-eurozone member that is due to assume the rotating EU presidency in the second half of 2013, the economy had a good year in 2011 and economic activity is expected to increase by 2.4% in 2012.

During the economic crisis, Latvia's economy plummeted 18%, the worst in the European Union, and it became the first EU country to seek a bailout - €7.5 billion - from a group led by the International Monetary Fund. Since then, the situation greatly improved, but the country still has to correct its excessive deficit, fight unemployment and tackle the high rates of poverty.

The Bank of Latvia forecasts that switching to the euro would boost the county’s real GDP by 7.4%, investment by 15.9%, exports by 5% and would lower long-term interest rates by half a percentage point by 2020.

An August survey of more than 1,000 Latvians by the Latvijas Fakti pollster showed that just 35% supported euro adoption with 59% declaring themselves against and 6% undecided.

So it is time to think about company formation and company registration in Latvia.