Entrepreneurs call for ‘inflation bonuses’ to be tax-free in Latvia / article

One company that chose to pay extra this month is Circle K. In the four countries most affected by inflation: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland, Circle K will pay its employees a benefit of €200.

Jekaterina Leidmane, director of business support at the company, said: [..]A total of €200 will be paid this winter, but not all employees will receive it. 97% of Circle K employees are eligible for benefits, but those in management positions or those earning above a certain level are not eligible. Take care of those most in need. ”

Lidl Latvija’s head of corporate communications, Dana Hasana, said the company paid 30% of his monthly salary as a one-off reward and helped more than 750,000 euros including taxes.

“We all received 30% of our salary as a monthly premium in January. We are exploring different ways, it’s very convenient, we try to be flexible. [..]If we want these people to be motivated and interested in our work and our loyalties, we probably can’t do it any other way,” Hassana said.

LTRK board member Jānis Lielpēteris estimates that benefits are mainly paid to employees in large companies, as the energy crisis will naturally affect businesses, especially smaller ones. However, the LTRK encourages benefits paid to employees to be exempt from the additional labor tax burden.

“For example, if you look at an example of a company with 50 employees spending €100,000 on such a project in half a year, you would come to the conclusion that about €60,000 goes to direct support. It is used for taxes and philanthropy.This means that only 60% of the aid available to entrepreneurs actually helps their employees.

“In the context of our proposal, which was actually also directed by the Ministry of Economy, but at present it seems that it is the Ministry of Finance that does not support such a solution. We can also support our employees.” LTRK representatives said, adding that the various additional benefits for employees are a long-term investment for employers that will always pay off.

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