SMEs with more than 50 workers to receive tax cuts

TIRANA, Nov. 14 – Small and medium-sized enterprises operating in Tirana and employing more than 50 workers will soon no longer have to pay local government taxes. The proposal has been made by Tirana Mayor Lulzim Basha in an effort to increase employment in the capital, one of the key issues especially among youth and new graduates.
In a meeting with businessmen and investors last weekend, Basha pledged SMEs hiring more than 50 employees will be free of local government taxes for four years. Basha also announced the possibility of partial or full local government taxes for big enterprises, a proposal which will be discussed with the central government.
“We believe the economic development creates more opportunities for businesses and more chances for employment,” said Basha, mentioning the one-stop shop project on licenses and permits which the municipality is implementing with the IFC.
Another project the municipality is planning targets reducing high unemployment rates among youth by offering internships for more than 6,000 university students each year and establishing a database on job opportunities.
Last month, Tirana’s municipal council approved the removal and reduction of 60 taxes and municipal tariffs in an effort to ease the fiscal burden for Tirana businesses and create more employment opportunities.
Tirana Mayor Lulzim Basha, who had put this promise on top of his electoral campaign for the May 8 Tirana race, said the reduction of these taxes and the establishment of a one-stop shop for licenses and permits are two of the most important decisions to create new jobs and stimulate economic growth, creating new space for existing SMEs and new ones.
He added that the benefits of this strategy for increasing Tirana’s competitiveness would be long-term.
Latest data by the municipality of Tirana show some 28,730 businesses operated in Tirana until June 2010. Some 69 percent of them are small businesses. Most businesses operate in the retail trade accounting for 26 percent of the total, followed by services with 16 percent, leisure and entertainment with 15 percent, and wholesale trade with 13 percent.