| Starting 1 May this year, a reduced value added tax rate of 10 % has been introduced in place of the former 21 % and will be applied to accommodation services provided by hotels, motels, guest houses and tourist houses.
Amendments to the Value Added Tax Law were introduced to help the Latvian tourism industry regain its competitiveness and to create new jobs, as well as to improve the country's foreign trade ratio.
Amendments to the Value Added Tax Law also include a provision stating that the reduced VAT rate for newspapers, magazines and other periodicals will be in force until 2012. The previous edition of the law stated that press publications would have a 21 % VAT rate until 2011. | 
