RIGA, Oct 16 (Xinhua) -- Health care, taxation, education and economy are seen by Latvian entrepreneurs as the sectors most in need of reforms, shows a new survey released on Tuesday by Latvia's Citadele Bank.
According to the Citadele Index survey, 49 percent of the polled entrepreneurs noted the need for reforms in Latvia's health sector, 45 percent named tax reforms, 44 percent called for education reforms and 44 percent stressed the necessity for economic reforms.
Meanwhile, 18 percent of respondents in the survey called for reforms in the financial sphere, 16 percent in regional policies, 15 percent in the judiciary, 13 percent in the transport sector and 12 percent in the welfare system.
Asked to evaluate the performance of Latvia's current center-right government, the entrepreneurs gave the most positive assessment of the ministries of culture, defense and foreign affairs, while the ministries of health, economics, justice, finance and education received the most critical assessment.
"Latvian taxes, especially taxes on labor, are the highest in the Baltics. So, there is still a lot of work to do in this area. At the same time, 77 percent of the surveyed entrepreneurs indicated that unexpected tax policy changes might jeopardize their businesses. It is therefore especially important to ensure that the reforms are gradual and meticulously planned," said Martins Abolins, an economist at Citadele Bank.
The Citadele Index, which is released quarterly, surveys entrepreneurs on topics concerning the current state of the Latvian economy and their outlook on the future.
