Latvia can no longer fight the shadow economy. The head of the subcommittee for the shadow economy, Kaspers Briskans, said that the previous control tools had exhausted themselves. The shadow economy shrank from 26.5% in 2022 to 22% in 2025, but then started to grow again. The control program focused on consequences rather than causes. About 40% of the shadow economy is a response by businesses to gaps in tax policy, Briskans noted. According to him, the more the state suffocates businesses and society with taxes, the more money goes into the shadows.