Search Results for: Latvia

BY ALAN OSBORN
ESTONIA’S prime minister Juhan Parts has refused to increase his government’s planned 20% hike in strong alcohol duty rates, despite pressure from neighbouring Finland for a steeper rise. Visiting Helsinki, Mr Parts heard arguments that next year’s planned tax change would add only a few cents to a bottle of strong grain liquor which retails for about Euro 3 in Estonia, while selling for Euro 9 a bottle in Finland.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
IN the age of the Euro-sceptic politician, no one can deny that European Union (EU) institutions have a lot of power, and that their authority is felt in every economic sector, including the insurance business. With European rules currently being debated that will shape the future of car insurance, for instance, it is futile to deny the industry follows EU politics as closely as it does national public affairs.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE LEGAL web being cast by the European Union (EU) in the fight against money laundering is being tightened still further. A third directive has now been proposed by the European Commission that, among other things, will broaden the definition of money laundering to include not only the concealment or disguise of the proceeds of serious crimes but also the financing of terrorism with either criminal or legally acquired money.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
DETAILS of the expansion in European Union (EU) import quotas for Kazakhstan steel products because of May’s enlargement of the EU by 10 new member countries have been released by the European Commission. The central Asian republic had a pre-existing steel trade deal with Brussels, guaranteeing its access to EU markets for a range of products.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE GREEKS are Europe’s most dishonest tax payers a European Commission report has concluded, with more than 20% of work by value being undeclared. The paper shows Britain is much more honest, with only 2% of its GDP concealed from the taxman, second only to Austria (1.5%).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BRITAIN’S tax burden as a proportion of GDP fell sharply in 2002 to 35.8% from 37.3% in 2001, confirming the UK as among the lightest taxed jurisdictions in the European Union (EU). The contrast is especially marked with its key competitors Germany (40.2% in 2002), France (44.2%), and Italy (41.7%), according to the latest available comparative figures from EU statistical agency Eurostat.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
WITHIN the newly expanded European Union (EU), Poland is the cheapest country in which to buy a car, although under current trends that honour may not last long. According to the latest European Commission figures, Polish car prices are on average 9% cheaper than those in Finland, the cheapest country using the single European currency.…

BY MARK ROWE
IT is understandable to see how the cosmetics industries in the European Union’s (EU) newest members might view the recent expansion of the EU club with mixed feelings. On the one hand, new markets have opened up: if their products are good enough to sell at home, they can now sell them from the Baltic to the Atlantic.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE GREEKS may be European football champions, but they are bottom of the league for tax honesty, said a European Commission report, with more than 20% of work by value being undeclared. ‘Undeclared work in an enlarged Union’ shows Britain is much more honest, with only 2% of its GDP concealed from the tax authorities, second only to Austria (1.5%).…

Keith Nuthall
THE GREEKS may be champions in European football, but they are bottom of the league for tax honesty, a European Commission report has concluded, with more than 20% of work by value being undeclared. The paper ‘Undeclared work in an enlarged Union’ shows that Britain is much more honest, with only 2% of its GDP being concealed from the tax authorities, second only to Austria (1.5%).…