TIRANA, Oct. 26 – Albania’s total tax rate as percentage of commercial profit remained unchanged at 36.5 percent in 2016, being one of the highest among EU aspirant Western Balkans countries, according to the World Bank’s Doing Business report.
At 36.5 percent of profit, Albania’s total tax rate is slightly lower only compared to Serbia’s 39.7 percent.
The total tax rate in other regional EU aspirant economies ranged from a record low of 13 percent in Macedonia, 15.2 percent in Kosovo, 22.2 percent in Montenegro, 22.6 percent in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Although making paying taxes easier by introducing a new online system for filing and paying taxes, businesses in Albania still need to make 34 payments a year and spend 261 hours a year on paying taxes, one of the region’s highest.
Albania’s total tax rate is composed of 14.1 percent in profit taxes, 18.8 percent in labor taxes and contributions and 3.6 percent in other taxes such as municipal fees and vehicle and fuel taxes.
Since 2014, the corporate income tax and the withholding tax on dividends, rents and capital gains have increased by 5 percent to 15 percent, making the tax burden in Albania one of the region’s highest.
High taxes were the top concern for the business community in the latest AmCham Business Index which hit a four-year low in 2016.
Taxes were the second most problematic factor for doing business for 21.3 percent of respondents in Albania after corruption, according to the latest Global Competitiveness report published by the World Economic Forum, a Switzerland-based think tank.
