Raising taxes now would be a mistake, said Andris Bite, President of the Latvian Employers' Confederation, in an interview with Latvian Radio on Wednesday, August 7. According to him, it would be more beneficial for the economy to lower labor taxes, while finding a way to compensate for the losses to the state budget. "It is obvious that raising taxes now would be a mistake, since the economy will neither grow faster nor develop better," said the President of the Latvian Employers' Confederation. Bite noted that the state should act more boldly, namely, lower labor taxes, as well as taxes on small business regulation to a level that would be competitive with neighboring countries. At the same time, Bite acknowledged that lowering the relevant taxes to a competitive level would reduce the state budget revenue in the short term. However, the government is offered measures that should be introduced to compensate for this short-term decrease in revenue. "There will be minuses in the tables, but in life, things often happen differently," said Bite, expressing confidence that in the long term, such a decision will definitely yield a positive result, as part of the business in the grey zone of the economy will start paying taxes. Bite also noted that for decades, practically nothing has been done in Latvia to make the economy grow faster and become larger. The Latvian Employers' Confederation (LDDK) is a representative of employers at the state level and a partner in the socio-economic dialogue of the Cabinet of Ministers. The mission of LDDK is to create a favourable environment for entrepreneurship in Latvia, promoting business competitiveness and representing the interests of employers in the social dialogue at the state, European and international levels.
