Mintos hails “big win for investors” on tax issue

A reduction in withholding tax requirements is “a big win for investors”, Latvia-based peer-to-peer lending platform Mintos has said.

Latvian parliament has passed a law which reduces withholding tax requirements for private individuals who are tax residents of EU and EEA countries from 20 per cent to five per cent.

This means that Mintos investors will pay just five per cent of their interest income in taxation, rather than 20 per cent.

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By law, Mintos is required to deduct any tax from investor interest payments automatically. The P2P lender has been lobbying for a reduction in the rate for several years, and welcomed the news in a blog posted on the company website.

“This is a big win for investors,” said a Mintos spokesperson.

“We’ve been working together with the local financial institution trade association and other stakeholders for two years to affect a law change, and we’re very happy to see that our combined efforts have finally paid off!”

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The law change will come into effect on 14 November 2022, and Mintos said that it is already working on implementing the changes on the platform.

“We expect development to complete by the end of November,” added the Mintos spokesperson.

“Once the changes are ready, you’ll need to review and confirm your tax details to benefit from the reduced tax rate. We’ll let you know when the reduced rate is live.”

The new law will also simplify the taxation experience for P2P investors, as they will only need to confirm their tax residence once and no certificates or other documentation will be needed.

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