"Paying taxes is a social security issue and a civic duty of every individual, so educating young people about the tax system and how taxes are used for the benefit of society is a means to improve tax morale in the long term, increase motivation to voluntarily fulfill tax obligations and avoid the shadow economy," the Ministry said.
The education drive also hopes to show that by engaging in the shadow economy, young people expose themselves to several risks, losing social guarantees, job security and social insurance.
"Involving young people can effectively promote a positive tax culture as an important element of community development," the Ministry said, adding that it has "asked Latvian universities to inform them about the current curricula and the subjects included in them, in which the issues of the shadow economy are already or could be explained. FM is open to cooperation in educating students on the issues of curbing the shadow economy, including presenting informative materials, offering guest lectures and providing other types of support."
The shadow economy is a persistent problem in Latvia and despite various attempts to tackle it, credible research suggests that though progress has been made, it has been at a fairly slow pace.
The Ministry of Finance said it is "open and interested in strengthening cooperation and research with Latvian universities in order to jointly promote financial literacy in the country and to jointly promote more successful curbing of the shadow economy."
However receptive students are to such initiatives, their opportunity to influence the shadow economy in the short term is probably less than the influence of employers offering cash-in-hand work to them during the summer vacation.
