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Latvian tax authority announces reshuffle to prevent corruption

Xinhua, May 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

Latvian State Revenue Service on Tuesday announced a major staff reshuffle to prevent any corruption inside the agency.

A total of 39 revenue service employees at Latvian State Revenue Service will be affected, of whom seven senior officials will be rotated to other institutions, the service's director general Inara Petersone told a news conference Tuesday.

Latvia's chief tax officer stressed that the rotations, which would take place on May 23, were not an attempt to get rid of allegedly corrupt employees, but rather a measure aimed at keeping risk to the minimum.

The reorganization also includes a revision of the areas of responsibility of the most senior tax officers, including Petersone.

The head of the State Revenue Service also informed about a plan to create the Tax Police by merging the Financial Police and Customs Police.

Petersone dismissed concerns the tax officers suspected of involvement in corrupt activities might simply be rotated to other positions. The head of the revenue service said the employees suspected of misconduct would be punished and that nine employees had already been suspended this year.

Commenting on the reforms launched in the revenue service, Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis voiced hope they would result in a more transparent and successful operation of the tax authority and an increase in tax revenue.

Finance Minister Dana Reizniece-Ozola said tax officers' rotations had to become a regular measure preventing corruption risks. Citing experts' findings, the minister said employees who work in the same position for a long period of time develop close relations with their colleagues which, in institutions like the revenue service, can increase the risks of corruption.

The shake-up of the State Revenue Service was announced after a list of tax officers suspected of involvement in corruptive dealings was submitted to Reizniece-Ozola, who subsequently told Petersone to get rid of the allegedly corrupt employees. Endit