TIRANA, Dec. 1 – Albania has repeated its request to neighboring Italy to cut transportation taxes for Albanian businesses which send goods to Italy by trucks.
The latest direct request came during a visit of Albanian Parliament Speaker Ilir Meta, who made the issue present in talks with his Italian counterpart, Laura Boldrini, the head of the Italian Chamber of Deputies.
Italy is a strategic partner for Albania and the main investor in the Adriatic-Ionian republic. Italy is also the top country in the list of the trade and economic exchanges for Albania.
But when entering the Italian territory, Albanian business trucks have to pay a weight tax and a circulation tax which together cost 200 to 300 euros, a burden that has been in place for decades and seen as remnant of communist Albania’s hostile relations with the West.
Italy remains Albania’s main trading partner and the transportation taxes have been criticized many times by Albanian businesses as a damaging policy for their trade operations.
During the Italian prime minister’s visit to Tirana last December, that tax was one of the issues discussed and it seemed that the two premiers had resolved the issue. But the tax removal needs a vote in the parliament and the government has to push harder, Albanian experts say.
