Local government to manage small businesses taxes

TIRANA, Nov. 15 – The Vice Minister of internal Affairs, Ferdinand Poni, declared on Wednesday that 2007 will launch the new scheme of tax collections according to which the local structures will handle all the process of tax collections from small businesses. Poni made this statement to the Parliamentary commission of Economy. This measure aims at improving the efficiency of the process as well as ending a futile dispute between central and local institutions. “The new legal framework will provide the local administration with the necessary fiscal autonomy, making space for improvements in the business climate and enhancing the coordination between business and governance interests,” said Poni. He also added that the new law provides a flexible range of policies that target the specific needs of different regions in the country. The new law allows the local power structures to determine the tax rate and the procedures to administer and collect taxes. It also gives the capacity to point out the categories which will have facilitated procedures or lower rates. Finally the law will allow local structures to determine the way in which they will use the revenues form these collections.