Govt to cut VAT on health, IT to 10%

TIRANA, May 10 – Government has announced it soon plans to cut the value added tax (VAT) to 10 percent for the health and information technology sectors.
Introducing the new initiative during a government meeting, Prime Minister Sali Berisha said the measure was part of a necessary process to facilitate and improve the business climate.
Berisha said the cut of the VAT to 10 percent on the health sector, from 20 percent currently, would create bigger investment opportunities, offer more qualitative services and give an end to price speculations by medicine importers.
“By halving the VAT, we will have hundreds of millions of euros more in investments and give an end once and for all to the unscrupulous speculation by some medicine importers,” said Berisha.
The Prime Minister said the 10 percent VAT would also be applied for IT companies as a necessary measure to facilitate the development of the information technology.
“The fast progress on computerized services is the safest way for big improvements to citizens’ service,” said the Prime Minister.
Berisha also said government’s goal in the next three years was to increase internet usage by another 15 percent of the population.
According to Berisha, the internet usage indicator has currently increased to 32 percent of the population, up from 4.8 percent in 2005.