SEZ Advantages
Strategic Location
1.
The Port of Liepaja is one of the few regional multi-functional ice-free ports;
2.
The 1520 mm railway gauge provides convenient and direct connection to Estonia, Lithuania, Russia and other CIS countries;
3.
A well developed truck road system connects Liepaja to all regional development and industrial centers;
4.
There are three international airports within 200 kilometers, providing regular passenger traffic, carrying cargoes and mail globally by civil aviation aircrafts;
5.
There are representation agencies of the major global logistic service providers, situated in Liepaja;
6.
Liepaja is a significant Trans - European Transport Network hub in the East – West Corridor.
Business Environment
The Liepaja Special Economic Zone (SEZ) offers a comprehensive opportunity to do business in Latvia. Established in 1997 (up until 2035), the Liepaja SEZ territory first and foremost enables its customers to take a full advantage of considerable tax incentives and free territories for greenfield investments, as well as, cost efficient and skillful workforce. Business companies, establishing themselves within the Liepaja SEZ are entitled for the following fiscal incentives amounting to 50% of their total investments:
80%
rebate on the applicable Corporate Income Tax
80%
rebate on the applicable Property Tax
Thus, as opposed to the standard tax rate of the Corporate Income Tax of 20% in the country, for the LSEZ capital companies the rebate makes the tax rate as low as 4%. Rebate on the applicable Property Tax makes the tax rate as low as 0.3% for the LSEZ capital companies, as opposed to the standard tax rate of 1.5% in the country.
Opportunity to operate under a free zone status, thus obtaining additional tax incentives:
1.
0% rate of the Value Added Tax (VAT), applicable for virtually all supplies and services;
2.
excise tax and customs duty exemptions.
Companies can also use other provided opportunities:
1.
The City of Liepaja provides high-pressure gas and high-voltage power connections;
2.
Industrial companies in the City of Liepaja traditionally cooperate with each other by combining their technological and engineering capabilities for manufacturing the widest possible variety of production;
3.
More than 200 hectares of land are available for the business development purposes;
4.
There are several Business Parks, providing production facilities for business companies;
5.
State Employment Agency carries out the vacancy registration and recruitment of staff, training prior to recruitment, training of the unemployed at the employer’s request and provides grants for job creation for specific support groups;
6.
The state support for training, which is organized in collaboration with the Latvian Development and Investment Agency;
7.
IT training for small and micro enterprises.
Quality of Life
1.
The unique city of Liepaja, with its fine, white sandy beach is on the coast of the Baltic Sea. A westerly wind, with a higher than average occurrence than in other parts of Latvia, has earned the city the name ‘The City Where Wind is Born’. Liepaja is the place where the sea meets the shore, the wind meets the forest pines, the past meets the future, musicians meet their audience, ideas and dreams are realised, and holiday adventures can begin.
2.
Liepaja beach has the Blue Flag status. With white sand, various opportunities for recreational activities and lots of beach bars for refreshment. Equipment is also available to allow disabled people to enjoy the sun, sea and sand. In the evening beach parties are often held in the many marquees and coffee shops.
3.
The Russian Empire and former Soviet Union have left Liepaja a very special legacy, Karosta, (the Navy Port). This area is especially interesting because of its military buildings and church. In addition to houses over one hundred years old and examples of ‘Soviet style’ apartment blocks. It is an area that was ‘closed’ to the general population and outsiders for almost half a century.
4.
Liepaja’s culture will satisfy everyone. There is something to suit any music, art or theatre lover. Liepaja is proud to have the oldest professional theatre in Latvia. The Liepaja Theatre repertoire is artistically very rich and diverse, including classical as well as contemporary plays, to be enjoyed by locals and visitors alike.
5.
Lovers of classical music will greatly appreciate any performance by the Liepaja Symphony orchestra. The Concert Hall “Great Amber” was opened in November 2015 to delight every listener, who will be able to fully enjoy the highest quality music performances by artists from Latvia and abroad.
6.
A vast range of bars, coffee shops and restaurants can be found in Liepaja. The culinary traditions of Liepaja are based on local traditions, characteristic to generations of coastal inhabitants.
7.
Liepaja is impossible to imagine without the major architectural features that shape the city’s image – Art Nouveau style, the creations of Paul Max Bertschy and numerous wooden buildings. Most definitely, the architectural pride of the city is its buildings constructed in the Art Nouveau style or Jugendstil. The city has preserved a number of wooden houses with beautiful murals in stairwells and carvings on their facades made in Art Nouveau. Liepaja has the largest amount of preserved wooden houses amongst Latvian cities dating back as far as 17-18 centuries.
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