All About Latvia

VAT through flowers

RIGA – A proposal to cut the value-added tax for the tourism industry has been wobbling through the parliament. In spite of the objections by the party of Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis and contrary to the recommendations of the International Monetary Fund, the proposal was sent to the parliament for a vote. The opposition party, [...]

So much for the red tape

RIGA – The following is the list of documents some teachers are required to submit to qualify for an EU stipend to improve their qualifications that this particular teacher has to collect in just one week’s time: 1. CV 2. A continuous education certificate 3. The organization of the learning process: 3.1 Study plans 3.2 Lessons evaluations 3.3 Lessons self-analisys 4. The [...]

Frustration of the Day

RIGA – I talked to someone last night about the grand disillusionment in the ability of the people of Latvia to govern themselves. Before Latvia joined the EU, it adopted a series of reforms with a goal of joining the EU in mind, as opposed to evaluating whether policies are good for the people of [...]

Slesers Jab

RIGA – As far as local politics is concerned, the most interesting bit from the IMF announcement on disbursement of more than €200 million to the cash-strapped Latvia was this (emphasis mine): Rigorous execution of the 2010 budget is the first step, and this entails refraining from tax cuts or spending increases, saving any windfall revenues, [...]