TIRANA, July.19- The Chamber of Commerce has created a working group, with the support of the administration, to investigate and report on the national wage system. This monitoring will be done with regard to specific industries and sectors. In relation to referential salaries the businesses in Albania which operate with half-ready materials have expressed deep discontent as they claim that the referential system is not clear and that it includes very high wages, increasing the cost of production. This will ultimately hurt the competitiveness of industry. The claim has been received by Tax Authority head, Gerta Picari, who has acknowledged the concern as legitimate but has explained that it was necessary to enforce it so to fight informality.
In the meantime, the fashion industry has asked for changes in the payment of social contributions for unqualified labor. Exporters also expressed disapproval of the tax authorities which, according to them, has not reimbursed the value added tax for the past 18 months. An agreement was signed also between the Tax Authorities and the Chamber of Commerce by the respective heads Gerta Picari and Gjok롕ldedaj.
The agreement targets better relations between the state and the business community through higher dialogue between the two.
Business concerns
Fason industry representatives have said that changing the referential wage system three times on the side of the administration has not helped them to understand and implement the regulations. They also have requested the taxation authorities not to collect the first six months of social security contributions for unqualified labor. Export industry representatives, on the other side, have a different complaint. According to them the tax authorities have not reimbursed the VAT for the past 18 months.
Also, the construction industry has asked for better systems to coordinate social security and life insurance policie
