The finance minister urges the government “under no circumstances” to take on new costs

The minister pointed out that the situation in the economy is changing very rapidly, among other things, if in August of last year the Ministry of Finance predicted growth in the Latvian economy in the amount of 2.4% in 2024, then the latest forecasts show that the growth will not be higher than 1.4%. Similarly, inflation in Latvia is significantly lower than previously forecast.

“There is a new reality,” Asheraden said, adding that in such a situation it is not difficult to predict that tax revenues could be lower than planned.

The minister stated that it is planned to inform the government about the current situation in the second half of April, but at the moment, looking at how the situation is developing, there is little good news.

“What I can currently recommend to the government is to under no circumstances take on new, additional costs. Rather, on the contrary, think about how to reassess the government’s costs,” Asheraden said.

He also noted that it will be possible to speak more precisely about the possible review of government spending in the second half of April, because at the moment the situation is still being evaluated, including looking at alternatives.

LETA already announced that a total of 2.389 billion euros were collected in tax revenues in the first two months of this year, which is 40.5 million euros or 1.7% less than planned.

In the state budget, tax revenues in the first two months of this year amounted to 2.257 billion euros, which is 34.5 million euros or 1.5% less than planned. Among them, tax revenues in the state budget amounted to 1.82 billion euros, which is 63.5 million euros or 3.4% less than planned, while tax revenues in the municipal budget amounted to 436.9 million euros, which is 29 million euros or 7.1% more than planned.