Survival of the Richest

Latvia
Global solutions
The Latvian government’s position on the establishment of
an intergovernmental body on tax is currently not known.
Conclusion
There are a number of elements of concern in relation to
Latvia. Despite repeated money laundering scandals, the
government is still showing resistance towards financial
transparency. In particular, the plans to introduce very
strict limitations on access to the upcoming register of
beneficial owners raises the question of whether Latvia will
even comply with the minimum EU requirements of letting
all those who can prove a ‘legitimate interest’ access the
register. The government is also opposing full public country
by country reporting for multinational corporations.
This concern is further exacerbated by the fact that Latvia has
a high number of indicators of structures that can facilitate
corporate tax avoidance, as well as the Latvian holding
companies, which are subject to very generous tax benefits,
and can thus become vehicles of corporate tax avoidance.
While Latvia has relatively few tax treaties with developing
countries, the average reduction of the tax rates of
developing countries that have signed those treaties is high,
and thus also a reason for concern.
Lastly, it is problematic that Latvia does not support the
creation of an intergovernmental UN tax body, which would
give developing countries a chance to participate on a truly
equal footing in the setting of global tax standards.
Survival of the Richest • 77