TIRANA, Jan 5 /ATA/ Prime Minister Edi Rama appealed on Wednesday to all companies that are suspected of underreporting by tax authorities to report the real wages of their employees, warning them that if an investigation is launched for fiscal evasion they will face not only fines, but also criminal charges.
In a conversation with his followers on the social network “Facebook,” Rama said that underreporting of salaries eats away not only at the pensions of these employees, but also constitutes a pension robbery.
“The leak of payroll data has somehow helped us gain an insight about what is happening and shows us that some measures that we will take are going in the right direction. We have sent a letter to all those who are suspected of underreporting, which disguises tax evasion, and have been asked to self-regulate the declaration on January 20, when the salaries of employees are reported. Meanwhile, it has become clear that the letters go to all employees of companies where Tax Administration has set a special focus due to discrepancies with the their declaration,” Rama said.
Prime Minister reminded that underreporting constitutes an administrative violation punishable by a fine, and in case of an investigation for fiscal evasion it falls into the category of penal offence which is punishable by imprisonment.”
“I appeal to all those who have received the letter to reflect, because we want a more positive and favorable business climate and in no way a climate which in the name of positivity, business profitability, slashes the salaries of employees and exactly their pensions, eroding the entire pension scheme in Albania, because if a part of the salary is reported and a part is paid in cash, it is tantamount to robbery of pension scheme, ” the Prime Minister said.
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