The biggest problem businesses face is getting timely information on legislative changes
TIRANA, May 24 – A group of IMF experts have visited Tirana on a technical mission to explore the relationships between the business community and the tax administration. They wanted to see how the tax administration’s activities in Albania measure up to the best practices worldwide and what remains to be improved to help the country’s business climate, the American Chamber of Commerce said.
The IMF experts met with representatives of Am- Cham members from law and accounting firms that work closely with businesses to resolve issues companies face during their work with the tax administration.
The IMF delegation spoke to the service firm representatives about the performance of electronic payments and their reception among Albanian businesses. Speaking to the IMF experts about recent developments in the tax sector, the AmCham Executive Director spoke about the issue of having unjust implementation of the laws. The biggest problem businesses face is getting timely information on legislative changes. Tax administration officials face this problem too, as they have difficulties keeping updated with the legal and regulatory changes. And that is costly for businesses.
Speaking about the challenges their clients face with the tax administration, many of the lawyers attending the meeting said clarification questions to the tax administration often do not find a competent response, getting evasive answers instead, and that creates more confusion. They added that more often it is not that the tax officials don’t know the answer, it’s that they don’t want to answer in order to leave specific issues open.
One major problem was when companies don’t agree with fines against them and decide to go to court, beginning a long and costly process.
Having to pay the fine before appealing it puts undue burden on companies’ finances and businesses often don’t get a chance to get their money back even if they win the trial. According to the legal representatives at the meeting, there are still ways to find the
cooperation of tax inspectors. To this day in Albania, having the right friends, political or social influence, often helps businesses out of problems more than the law does. Lawyers present at the meeting with IMF experts also spoke about the positive changes seen in the tax system. The electronic payment of taxes and the way VAT is refunded were changes that are valued by the businesses that improved their relations with the tax administration.
