Estonia’s GDP will decline by 0.4% in 2024, before rising by 1.9% in 2025 and 3.0% in 2026, according to the Bank of Estonia’s latest forecast, ERR reports. Annual inflation will reach 3.5% in 2024, rising to 3.9% in 2025 and then falling again to 3.6% in 2025, the central bank projects. Inflation will rise…
The Estonian Trade Union Confederation (EAKL) and the Confederation of Estonian Employers (ETK) have begun negotiations on the minimum wage for 2025, ERR reports. EAKL demands that the minimum wage be raised by 12%. Arto Aas, managing director of ETK, has little hope of an agreement. Earlier, EAKL and ETK signed a “goodwill agreement” to…
The Latvian government plans to raise the personal income tax (PIT) for those with high income in 2025, LETA reports. Under the plan, the government will introduce an additional 3% PIT rate for those with income of over EUR 200,000 per year. The additional tax will apply to all taxable income, including capital gains. At…
Latvia’s State Revenue Service (VID) will contact 260 construction companies that are paying atypically low wages to their workers, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with LTV, VID director general Baiba Smite-Roke noted that the companies were paying wages that were significantly lower than the average. The aim was to ascertain whether the companies were…
Lithuania’s central bank, the Bank of Lithuania, has raised its GDP growth forecast for 2024, BNS reports. The central bank now expects the GDP to grow by 2.2% in 2024, up from its previous forecast of 1.9% in June 2024. The central bank projects that the GDP will rise by 3.1% in 2025 and 3.3%…
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics has submitted to the country’s parliament, the Saeima, amendments that would freeze the wages of top management in state-owned enterprises (SOE), LETA reports. Under the proposal, the wages of top executives at state and municipal companies would be frozen until the end of 2026. Rinkevics stressed that the remuneration of top…
Estonia’s Ministry of Finance has proposed postponing the introduction of a unified tax-free income threshold until 2026, ERR reports. The ministry said that the move would ensure that Estonia’s state budget deficit did not exceed 3% as required under EU law. Under the current system, gross income of EUR 1,200 per month is exempt from…
Lithuania’s GDP will grow by 2.3% in 2024 and 2.9% in 2025, according to the Finance Ministry’s revised forecast, BNS reports. In June 2024, the ministry projected that the GDP would grow by 2.1% in 2024 and 2.9% in 2025. Average annual inflation will slow down to 1.0% (1.1%) in 2024, before rising to 2.5%…
Doctors now enjoy the highest salaries in Estonia, surpassing IT experts, according to data from recruitment portal CV Keskus, BNS reported. Salaries offered to doctors now stand at an average of EUR 3,650-4,150 per month, followed by sales managers with EUR 1,900-4,000 and IT specialists with EUR 2,900-3,750. Meanwhile, average salary offers for sales specialists…