TIRANA, Sept. 3- Businesses in Tirana operate in a difficult environment, as the capital city ranks among the four regional cities that apply high fiscal burden on businesses. According to a World Bank study on urbanization in the Western Balkans, the number of taxes is extremely high in Tirana. The report said that Belgrade, Sarajevo, Tirana and Zagreb apply more than 30 taxes on business, while the regional average including other major cities is 9 and the ECA (Eastern Europe and Central Asia) region average is 16.
The study recommends that capital cities should be reoriented to reduce taxes and focus on their administration. It is suggested that municipalities in these cities, including Tirana, set up auditing and inspection systems if they are all paying their taxes and thereby expanding the taxpayer base and reducing the fiscal burden.
Reforming the business environment is probably the most difficult task these municipalities have. The study further says that Belgrade is the only capital city in the region that has an economic model of sustainable development. Whereas Tirana has a development model based on the fasone industry which has not been progressing for the last 20 years, remaining last in the value added chain. The bank also notes that Tirana did not have an accessible approach to technology and information.
To accelerate growth and job creation, the Western Balkans and Croatia need faster economic growth generated by advanced industries and services that focus on cities. Increasing the competitiveness of capital cities will be the promoter of employment growth in the Region.
EU accession, technological change and globalization are likely to create development opportunities that favor cities and their economies. The study added however, that if these trends are left unchecked, the could produce increasing inequality.
Association for Traders and Albanian Market Protection, Nikollaq Neranxi, has outcalled the Tirana Municipality for these high taxes. In a post he recalled all the censored protests the Association and civil society have organised against these taxes four years ago. They also took that tax package (four years ago) to the Constitutional Court for its overthrow, but the Court, already overturned by vetoing, dismissed our Association’s lawsuit.
“Today, the Municipality of Tirana prides itself on collecting only 100 million euros of business and citizen taxes annually. And you haven’t seen anything yet, as only the family property tax will quadruple in a year,” Neranxi warned.
Neranxi added that despite the high tax collection, the city lacks necessary investments, like some people still don’t have a regular water supply.The imposition of 30 taxes on business, and the addition of fees and taxes to ordinary citizens, has been a severe blow to the business-people who work and live in Tirana, Neranxi said.
