Tax Residents of the Republic of Latvia
According to Sections 2 and 3 of Article 14 of the Law "On Taxes and Duties" of 18 February 1995 (hereinafter – the Law on Taxes and Duties), a natural person is considered a Latvian resident (domestic taxpayer) if they meet at least one of the following criteria:
- has a declared place of residence in Latvia,
- is present in Latvia for 183 days or more during any 12-month period that begins or ends in the taxation period,
- is a Latvian citizen working abroad on behalf of the Latvian government.
Persons who do not meet the above criteria are considered non-residents and are subject to taxation on income earned in Latvia (as well as other taxes specified in Latvian law) in accordance with Latvian tax legislation (Section 14, Paragraph 5 of the Law "On Taxes and Duties").
Article 7 of the Law "On Taxes and Duties" establishes the priority of international agreements over Latvian tax legislation. Therefore, it should be taken into account that international agreements (including double taxation avoidance treaties), which will be referred to later in the text, take precedence over Latvian national legislation. A similar provision is also set out in Article 1, Paragraph 2 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Latvia (hereinafter – the "Tax Law"), as well as in Article 24, Paragraph 1 of the Law of 11 May 1993 "On Personal Income Tax" (hereinafter – the Personal Income Tax Law).