On Thursday, 7 November, the Saeima adopted in the final reading the Law on the State Budget for 2014, the Law on Medium-Term Budget Framework for 2014–2016 and amendments to 37 budget-related laws.Next year, the social insurance contribution rate will be set at 10.5%, the non-taxable minimum of the personal income tax will be raised to EUR 75 (LVL 52.71) and the tax relief to guardians will be EUR 165 (LVL 115.96). The minimum salary will be increased to EUR 320 (LVL 225), while the personal income tax rate will remain at 24%. Payments made from the...
On Thursday, 31 October, the Saeima adopted in the final reading urgent amendments to the Immigration Law in order to introduce quotas for issuing residence permits to real estate buyers and prevent foreigners from obtaining residence permits in exchange for purchase of real estate containing agricultural land or forest. In 2014, the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs will be limited to accepting not more than 700 applications for first-time residence permits on the grounds of purchasing real estate worth more than EUR 150,000. This quota will...