Latvia is situated in northeast Europe and as previously
mentioned, is one of the so-called Baltic States. It shares
borders with Estonia, Russia, Lithuania and Belarus. The capital
city Riga lies on the Baltic Sea. The population of Latvia
is approximately 2.3m, with around one third of the population
living in the capital. The country has a maritime climate,
with generally cool, short summers and wet winters and can
be prone to flooding. Riga has good transport connections
to the other Baltic countries (Estonia & Lithuania) and
also to St. Petersburg and Moscow. Ferry services run between
Riga and ports in Sweden, Finland and Germany and transportation
of goods by sea is an important means of commercial transport.
Figures for 2008 show that there were around 644,000 telephone
landlines in Latvia and 2.2 million mobile phones. The telecommunications
infrastructure is modern and subscriptions to fixed line and
mobile services are high. There were over 1.5m Internet users
in Latvia, again according to 2008 figures. Wireless services
are expanding in keeping with pan-European trends.
The Bank of Latvia is the country’s central financial
institution and issues currency as well as controlling interest
rates. The Lat (LLV) is currently pegged to the Euro. There
are several banks in Latvia and most offer the expected facilities
such as Internet banking, debit and credit cards, multi-currency
banking and foreign transfers. Opening a bank account is usually
straightforward, as long as documentary evidence of ID and
residence is provided. Opening a business account for an incorporated
entity is a little more involved and will require that a company
(unless self-employed) has been properly registered, and that
Statutes and Articles of Association are available.
There is a good road network allowing access to northern
countries such as Finland and Sweden via the Baltic ports
and south and west to other parts of Europe. The Via Baltica,
the main arterial route from the Baltic States and Finland
to Poland and Western Europe has been the beneficiary of EU
funding.
Latvian Railways is state-owned and runs the country’s
rail services. There are reasonable services from the capital,
Riga to all parts of the country, including the Baltic ports
and inland towns. There are also services to Russia and Estonia.
The ports of Riga, Ventspils and Liepaja are busy Baltic ports
handling large volumes of cargo.
I am facing a dilemma and would like to invite any reader to advise me.
I am a Brit who has lived outside UK since 1993- initially in Belgium (5 years) & subsequently in 4 African countries. After a year outside UK, the UK Inland Revenue confirmed my status as ‘non-resident’ for tax purposes and as I have had no income in UK, I have not completed a UK tax return for many years. I visit UK very rarely, normally for one or two weeks per year.
In May 2011, I was made redundent by my employers, who were downsizing. This coincided with a move to retire in the Netherlands, where I now have official residency (my wife is Dutch). I thought that, at 63 years of age, I would be unlikely to find suitable employment; in fact, I have not tried hard and had resigned myself to permanent (but slightly premature) retirement.
However, to my surprise, I have recently been approached (through a mutual acquaintance) by a company that wishes to use my skills on a project in the Isle of Man. The role, if & when confirmed, would see me working for about 10 days a month in Isle of Man, with about 5-7 additional days per month, working from home. Contract will be for about two years. The firm has asked me to confirm if I would prefer to be paid (and therefore be taxed) in Netherlands or Isle of Man, the idea being that I create a self-employment entity for this employment. I have no data on which to base a response. Given Isle of Man's traditional ‘low tax ‘environment, are there any benefits to declaring an income in IOM? Are there any Isle of Man residency implications? Netherlands takes a tax cut on total world wide income, and, as I have never had any contact with the Dutch authorities, I am reluctant to start such a relationship now. Do I have to declare income in both countries, with a breakdown prorata to the time spent in each jurisdiction? Should I declare income to UK Inland revenue?
If anyone has pertinent advice on these points, I’d be grateful to hear them.
Just wondering if anyone 'on the ground', as it were, might be reading and able to help me...I was considering relocating my hairdressing business from the UK to Ireland before the economy started to go properly belly-up...now, not so much.
Are things as bad as they seem over there, or is it being over-hyped by the media? And is the government still keen to support small business people? Cos if not, I'll look elsewhere...
Hi, I live in South Africa, and along with 2 business partners (one in South Africa and one in Ireland - all South African citizens though) are setting up a company that designs Smart phone applications. As they will be sold on the various platforms (none of which operate out of South Africa)we have to list our company as operating out of Ireland anyway. As such, we have decided to set up our company in the best tax country and are wanting info on whether Jersey or Malta is best? If anyone has some inside info we would really appreciate it!! Thanks!Mary
I am moving full time to France in Jan 2012 where I will be working as a freelance contract engineer to a number of Australian based companies. It is my choice to move to France not a work requirement. I will be renting my house out in Austrlalia and renting a house while I am in France. I hold both EU & Austrlain citizenshiip. I am married with 2 young children. Approx total family income $100k AUD. Do I pay tax in France or Australia or both ? Any help or guidance would be much appreciated.France move
Cyprus
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