Latvian unions to hold protest at Saeima December 1

Free Trade Union Confederation of Latvia will hold a rally at the Saeima building on December 1 to protest against the 2010 state budget, as the confederation's head Peteris Krigers told LETA. The rally will start at 8:30 a.m.; 1,000 participants are expected

As reported, at the National Trilateral Council's meeting this morning, social partners harshly criticized the budget bill and the planned tax hikes.



Social partners stressed that higher taxes are unacceptable to business community, and called the current budget "anti-social".



The social partners also said that the planned tax hikes will have a negative effect on healthcare sector. As a result, the previous agreement on funding for healthcare will have to be revised.



Latvian Employers' Confederation President Vitalijs Gavrilovs, who had none of his questions answered regarding how exactly the budget will bring about economic recovery and growth, said at the meeting that social partners would not support the 2010 budget.



Employers' Confederation Director General Elina Egle told reporters after the meeting that, if the confederation could support the budget bill for the first reading in the parliament, now the bill has been amended so much that it can no longer be supported by the social partners.



"The most appalling is the fact that the opinion of the lenders is more important than the opinion of taxpayers," said Egle, adding that the economic downturn will continue and the shadow economy will increase as a result.



Personal income tax rate in Lithuania and Estonia is 21 percent, whereas Latvia will have a 26 percent tax rate. Minimum monthly wage and tax-exempt minimum income are also higher in both neighbor countries, which puts Latvia in a disadvantageous situation. Therefore, the government perhaps should have considered other alternatives, such as a higher property tax or progressive personal income tax, said Egle.



Egle also pointed out that the social partners' recommendations regarding structural reform in public administration had not been taken into consideration during the work on the 2010 state budget.

Source:baltic-course.com