Raising taxes now would be a mistake - Employers' Confederation of Latvia

RIGA - It would be a mistake to increase taxes now, said Andris Bite, President of the Employers' Confederation of Latvia (LDDK), in an interview with Latvian Radio on Wednesday.

"It is clear that raising taxes now would be a mistake, because the economy will not grow faster or better from it," the LDDK president said.

He noted that the state should take bolder steps, namely in terms of labor taxes, as well as in the regulation of small business, taxes should be reduced to a level that is competitive with neighboring countries.

At the same time, Bite also pointed out that reducing taxes to a competitive level would result in lower short-term revenues for the state budget, but that the government is being proposed compensatory measures that should be put in place to compensate for this short-term reduction in revenues.

"There will be minuses in the tables, but things are often different in real life," said Bite, while expressing confidence that in the long term this decision will definitely have a positive effect, as some businesses currently operating in the shadow economy will start paying taxes.

Bite also pointed out that for decades virtually nothing has been done in Latvia to make the economy grow faster and bigger.