TIRANA, Feb. 24 – Public finances registered a considerable recovery in January 2016 fuelled by some tax hikes but public investments hit an 8-year low for the first month of a year.
Data published by the finance ministry shows government revenue in Jan. 2016 rose by 25 percent to 32.2 billion lek (€230 mln) fueled by new hikes in national taxes levied on cars, insurance premiums and minerals.
Starting Jan. 2016, personal five-seater vehicles with a cylinder volume of more than 3,000 cm3 and reference price of €50,000 are for the first time being classified as luxury cars with owners having to pay a registration fee of 70,000 lek (€500) and an annual tariff of 21,000 lek (€150).
The tax rate on insurance premiums has also increase to 10 percent in Jan. 2016, up from a previous 3 percent.
To compensate for a sharp cut in international commodity prices, starting this year mining royalty on coal, bitumen and construction materials is being applied at fixed rates based on their quantity in tons and cubic meters.
National taxes, which also include port, fuel circulation and carbon, fiscal stamps, fishing and packaging, doubled to 3.2 billion lek (€22.7 mln) compared to Jan. 2015.
The key value added tax registered a 7.4 percent increase to 10 billion lek (€71.7 mln) accounting for a third of total government revues,
Excise duties also registered a sharp increase of 1 billion lek (€7 mln) while the personal income tax doubled to 3.2 billion lek (€22.7 mln) in apparently positive effects from the nationwide campaign against informality launched in Sept. 2015.
Despite the positive start in revenue collection, public investments in Jan. 2016 hit a record low of only 291 million lek (€2 mln).
