Tirana Times
TIRANA, Sep. 21 – Represe-ntatives of Albania’s business community have made several requests to the economy committee in the Albanian parliament as it discusses the application of the value added tax, VAT, in all sectors of the economy.
The committee will also be discussing, reducing taxes on tourism and agriculture and other fiscal changes that are likely to affect most businesses in the country, small and large.
The changes are part of the new fiscal package for the year, a government set of rules that dictate tax policy for the year.
Participating at the meeting to discuss the new fiscal package, the business community representatives presented some demands, expressing concerns about some of the proposed changes.
Nikolin Jaka, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says there will be a strong lobbying by business community representatives on members of parliament of all sides to consider some proposals and suggestions.
A key requirement is the introduction of VAT to all sectors of the economy and businesses of all sizes.
Jaka says the aim is to diminish economic informality and provide equal opportunities in the market by offering fair competition.
“This means that for every bill, the product to the consumer goods must be accompanied by a VAT invoice. This substantially eliminates informality and the introduction of smuggled products as they are unable to be sold,” Jaka told the Albanian service of German public broadcaster DW.
Another worry for the business community is the constant changes to excise taxes, making it hard of Albanian businesses to make proper plans and hurting the bottom line as the government increases excise taxes and directly negatively affecting business activity.
The other major proposal from the ranks of the business community is the application of a VAT differential. That means some priority sectors should have a lower VAT applied to them. Businesses have give the example of Greece and neighboring countries, that although under the pressure of the economic crisis, have left tourism as a priority sector with the lower VAT of 7 percent.
So Albania’s business community is proposing to have the VAT on tourism and agriculture at no more than 10 percent. They also want Albanian craftsmen and small artisans to be entirely excluded from VAT in order the help the industry bloom.
A member of parliament and former deputy minister of finance, Sherefedin Shehu, called some of the demands reasonable, but adds that because there is already a VAT system in place, changes take time to be completed. “The government is trying to find ways to reduce the level of VAT,” Shehu told DW.
However, he says that lowering the VAT on sectors like tourism and health might be a good idea because studies in other countries show that won’t lead to lower prices.
Part of the proposals and the business community deal with the attitude shown by government officials toward small businesses, which makes up 95 percent of the total number of businesses.
Businesses say the local government also has an important role to play in tax rates for small businesses.
