TIRANA, March 13 /ATA/- Prime Minister Edi Rama outlined on Saturday the Social Resilience Package designed to mitigate the consequences of the global energy crisis, as well as of the war in Ukraine on prices.
Through concrete measures with immediate effect, the package has been designed to offset the increase in basket prices for pensioners according to defined categories, families in the economic assistance scheme, people with disabilities; provides support for farmers and small businesses, and finances the energy price shield for household consumers and small businesses.
The government will take the following concrete measures:
1. It will disburse 3.6 billion or 36 million dollars to index pensions. This measure will be reflected in the next pension of 673,542 pensioners.
2. For 434 thousand beneficiaries, citizens of this country, the government will compensate in cash the increase in the price of the basket items, which based on the calculation of INSTAT is 7% or converted increase on top of the average consumption calculated before the shock is 2 500 lek.
The government will provide 3 000 lek for 3 months in a row as compensation for the increase of basket prices, for:
-pensioners receiving less than half of the minimum wage,
-disability pensioners,
-pensioners living alone, (separately or as couple)
-Persons with disabilities, paraplegics, tetraplegics or blind and all families that are currently in the economic assistance scheme.
3- Support for beneficiary farmers of tax-free oil will go to ALL 1.4 billion or USD 14 million, with an additional fund of USD 5 million, which will be disbursed immediately.
4 – The government will support all Albanians who use urban and intercity urban lines, immediately disbursing 500 million ALL or 5 million dollars to pay the difference in the ticket price, so that no passenger is affected by the price change.
5 – It will bring 2 months ahead the entry into force of the law on the reduction of the income tax on salaries up to 40 000 lek and reduction by half of the tax on salaries up to 50 000 as well as the reduction of the income tax on salaries from 1 , 5 to 200 000, which means that 56% of employees in Albania pay 0 tax on salary.
6- It will bring two months ahead the entry into force of the law on the minimum wage, which in April will go up 32 000 ALL.
7- The government immediately decides to add another 20 billion, 200 million dollars, to the financing of the electricity price shield for households and small businesses.
