If it goes through, it will be the first case of a fiscal amnesty in Albania since the introduction of the market economy in 1990.
TIRANA, Jan. 31 – Albania’s government indicated this week that it is preparing to apply the country’s first ever fiscal amnesty since the fall of Communism, but a final decision will be taken in the next six months.
Economy and finance officials told the Albanian media this week they have started discussions with representatives of the business community on how to apply a fiscal amnesty.
The new law means that businesses can declare all money and property they have previously not declared within a certain period without facing any penalties.
If it goes through, it will be the first case of a fiscal amnesty in Albania since the introduction of the market economy in 1990.
A fiscal amnesty was proposed as early as 2000, but such a move has been gaining momentum of late, with Bank of Albania governor throwing his support behind the amnesty this week.
“The bank welcomes any move in the direction of formalizing the economy, the regulation of its balances. Of course this is a very complex process that requires good preparation and simultaneously requires a good awareness of all economic actors in the country,” Governor Adrian Fullani said.
The business community is firmly behind the amnesty with several chambers of commerce coming out publicly in support of the law.
“The amnesty is a must in order to fully formalize the economy,” Eugenia Gjuraj, executive director of the Tirana Chamber of Commerce said in a newspaper editorial this week.
The government will make more money through the amnesty in the long term as all assets will be registered, supporters of the bill argue.
This year is expected to be a tough one on the state coffers, which reopened the issue of fiscal amnesty. Member of parliament that support the measure told the Albanian media that a bill will prepared soon and approved within the next six months.
If it goes through, Albania’s case would certainly not be unique in Europe. The most recent amnesty was in neighboring Italy. Last December, the Italian government allowed Italian-based companies to declare funds earned abroad, raising 80 billion euros in taxes.
Ireland and Moldova are also recent examples. Russia went down that road three times in the 1990s
