Minister of Health and Labor Tanel Kiik (Center) proposed an additional targeted tax during the March 18 cabinet meeting, which would be used to finance the budget of the Estonian Health Insurance Fund. Kiik said that mainly financing healthcare from the social taxes of working people was unsustainable, as the number of people who worked…
The government has approved a bill providing a EUR 641-million supplementary budget aimed at combating the ongoing effects of the coronavirus pandemic, with a focus on the health-care sector, education and local government. The budget is the second of its kind issued in response to the pandemic; last April the previous administration issued an even…
Latvian garden and construction supplies store Depo has been told to close its doors because selling food does not make it an essential shop. Construction stores and garden centers must shut under the government’s latest lockdown rules, but Latvian chain Depo’s Estonian stores have kept their doors open because shops also sell food. The Ministry…
The government plans to issue another round of short-term bonds later on this month, for the third time in the past year. Finance minister Keit Pentus-Rosimannus said that while the precise volume of the bond issue was yet known, it was likely to be valued in the hundreds of millions, while this and other details…
According to Enterprise Estonia (EAS), tourism exports fell by 63% or by EUR 1.3 billion in 2020, reaching only EUR 763 million. “Especially in a small country, it is clear that our prosperity or lack thereof depends primarily on the extent to which we are able to sell goods and services outside Estonia,” Liina Maria…
Imports rose by 13% YoY in January, state agency Statistics Estonia reported, while exports grew by 4%. Evelin Puura, Statistics Estonia leading analyst, said the primary contributor to foreign trade in January was the increased trade in oil products and mineral fuels, partly the result of higher prices global crude oil prices. Meanwhile, the largest…
The government is to make available a further EUR 8.5 million in crisis support for the tourist sector, pending the go-head from the European Commission. The main target groups in the support will be hotels and other accommodation businesses, travel agents, restaurants and other eateries in Tallinn’s Old Town, and manufacturers of handicrafts and other…