TIRANA, February 2/ATA/ Socialist Party MP Ervin Bushati stated on Monday in the Assembly that, “Basha tax affects over 99% of Albanian citizens”.
Making a critical professional, economic and political analysis of Basha tax, MP Bushati said that, “Today, 91% of businesses pay 0% profit tax. Only 9% of businesses (11 thousand businesses) can be helped by Basha tax.”
“This also applies to all citizens employed in Albania. 97.5% of citizens pay less with the progressive tax than with Basha tax. Those who can benefit are about 17,000 citizens. In total, out of 2.8 million inhabitants, only 28 thousand are helped by Basha tax, i.e. only 1% of Albanians “, said Bushati.
That part of society described by the DP as “oligarchy”, he said, is the only one that benefits from Basha tax.
“Basha tax is a failed post-communist experiment – today it has failed all over the world. According to the European Commission report (December 2018) even countries that have had a flat tax are moving towards a progressive tax. The EU recommendations speak to how the flat tax is being reviewed today because it has hurt businesses. The countries that have changed it are: Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia, all post-communist countries. The only country that is a case of success is Russia”, Bushati emphasized.
Bushati also said that Basha tax failed with a vote in 2013.
“Albanians, after trying the flat tax for 4 years, voted not to have a flat tax anymore. According to the data, the growth in 2013 was only 0.9% in relation to GDP. In the years 2014-2019 that followed with the progressive tax, the growth was on average 4.2% in relation to GDP. Therefore, based on these three arguments, Basha tax must be rejected by all Albanian citizens,” he said. /r.e/p.s./
