Awareness campaign launched on declaration of income

TIRANA, Sept. 18 – Two weeks before the deadline expires, the Finance Ministry has launched an awareness campaign targeting people with annual income of 2 million lek and above who have to submit a declaration with tax authorities by Sept. 30 2012.
“Each individual with gross annual income from all sources at 2 million lek or more has the obligation to complete the annual declaration of personal income by Sept. 30, 2012. The goal of completing this declaration is the formalization of revenue over 2 million lek secured by individuals, the increase in the self-declaration of revenue and the equipment of individuals with the fiscal code,” says the ministry.
The declaration also contains the option of voluntarily filling in the application for individuals who in 2011 had annual revenue of up to 1.05 million lek in order to benefit from deductible expenses for their children’s education, medical expenditure and voluntary insurance.
Samples of the declaration can be downloaded from the Finance Ministry’s website. The declaration can also be submitted online through the General Directorate of Taxes website.
Foreigners who have income in the territory of Albania are also subject to the declaration.
While Sept. 30 is the final deadline for the first declaration of income for individuals and businesses with annual income of 2 million lek (Euro 14,318) and above, the success of this initiative remains to be seen considering the high informality in the Albanian economy, estimated at 30 percent, and the poor publicity campaign government has undertaken.