Janis Zelmenis (BDO) - The Latvian taxation 100 years ago and now

<p><strong>Janis Zelmenis</strong> is a Chairman of Management Board & Equity Partner at BDO Latvia, and one of the most prominent tax experts in Latvia. The Chambers Europe wrote: “Janis Zelmanis absolute knowledge of local and international legislation makes him one of the most frequently quoted personality in media widely. Janis is also an author of the book “Pendulum of Wealth” published in Latvian and Russian languages in December 2015 that is devoted to international tax planning and privatization of <i>Ventspils Nafta</i> in Latvia.” </p><p><strong>50 on the day of the recording</strong></p><p>We started our chat with Janis looking back at his achievements, as at the day of the recording Janis celebrated his 50th birthday. His own milestones are closely related to the strategy of the companies he was working for. And some of the best ways to switch off from work are while hunting where there is no internet coverage. </p><p><strong>Privatisation</strong></p><p>The more juicy part starts when we switch to his book about the privatisation when Latvia re-gained its independence from the USSR in 1990s. Some may call ir re-distribution of wealth, but Janis calls it stealing in a daylight, untaxed. Janis also gave an example of technicalities – how exactly this was happening. </p><p><strong>Spies</strong></p><p>From the literature and movies Janis is into a theme of spies right now, so he has highlighted <i>A Bridge of Spies</i> with Tom Hanks as one of his favourite. Currently Janis reads memoire by Pavel Sudoplatov who was a hitman who killed Leon Trotsky, one of the architects of the Russian Revolution. <i>NY Times</i> wrote about Sudoplatov: “He was a master of the art of ''silent'' elimination of enemies of the Soviet state..”<a href="#_ftn1">[1]</a></p><p><strong>Carriage with 3-4 horses</strong></p><p>One of Janis achievements is to lead an audit firm while being a lawyer. He enjoys having a broader perspective at the clients’ problems. Also for steady cash-flow reasons he prefers audit and bookkeeping ser