Customs, tax administration report higher income

TIRANA, March 5 – Both the customs and the tax administration exceeded their revenue targets in February 2014 and expect the trend to continue in the coming months.
The customs administration said it collected around 10 billion lek (Euro 70 million) in February 2014, up 4 percent compared to its target and 1.2 billion lek more compared to February 2013.
Elisa Spiropali, the director of the customs administration, dedicated the success to fight against corruption and smuggling and the new partnership with the business community.
Meanwhile, the tax administration said it collected around 12.3 billion lek (Euro 86 million) in February 2014, up 16 percent compared to February 2013.
Brisida Shehaj, the director of the tax administration, says tax evasion worth USD 36 million has been unveiled in investigations during the past five months with more than 50 people under investigation. “Construction and fuel companies are under investigation with economic damage until now estimated at around USD 5 million,” said Shehaj.
After a record 26 percent increase in December 2013 when imports of fuel and tobacco boomed ahead of the tax hikes, government revenues shrank in January 2014 affected by double digit drops in excise taxes and profit tax. Finance Ministry data show government collected around 27.3 billion lek (Euro 190 million), down 1.4 percent (Euro 2.7 million) compared to January 2013 but 2.2 percent more than it targeted.
The opposition Democratic Party has denounced what it calls “imaginary success in the first two months of 2014.” In a press conference this week, Democratic Party MP Florion Mima said that under the current pace of tax collection, the budget would lack 30 to 40 billion lek at the end of the year in the most optimistic scenario.
“In the first two months of 2014, only from the increase in excise duties, the circulation tax, the profit tax, the property tax and health insurance contributions, government should have collected an extra 2 billion lek each month and 4 billion lek in the first two months at a time when it has collected only an extra 1 billion lek” said Mima urging government to give explanations about the lack of around USD 30 million lek that should have been collected as a result of the tax increase.