TIRANA, Nov 19 /ATA/ – Parliament will convene for a plenary session on Wednesday to discuss several key legislative proposals concerning Albania’s tax, fiscal, and budgetary policies.
Today’s agenda includes the 2026 state budget bill, which outlines total government spending of 886.7 billion lek or 31.9% of the country’s GDP, a rise of 55 billion lek from the previous year. Projected revenues for 2026 are estimated at 823.1 billion lek (29.6% of GDP), an increase of 52.9 billion lek compared to the revised 2025 forecast.
A central element of the proposed budget is the Pension Reform, set to begin in January 2026 and extend through 2030, with an expected financial impact of 10.4 billion lek in the first year.
The reform will also include an increase in the minimum wage, which is scheduled to rise by 10,000 lek, to 50,000 lek per month starting January 1, 2026. The government has set a goal of reaching 70,000 lek by the end of its term in office.
The minimum wage increase will benefit approximately 308,000 workers across both the public and private sectors. The medium-term plan projects the minimum wage will increase to 60,000 lek by 2028 and 70,000 lek by the end of the current government term. In addition, the budget includes differentiated salary increases and periodic wage indexing for more than 144,000 public sector employees.
The government forecasts a 4% economic growth for 2026, with the unemployment rate projected to remain stable at 8.5% and inflation to hold steady at 2.2%. The budget deficit is expected to decrease to 2.3% of GDP, while public debt is projected to decline to 53.6% of GDP.
Another key legislative item under discussion is the “Fiscal Peace” initiative, which aims to offer businesses the opportunity to correct past tax discrepancies with a 5% payment on adjustments, without facing additional penalties. The bill is designed to encourage settlement with the tax administration, offering a three-year agreement period for eligible taxpayers, including those with gross income exceeding 14 million lek.
Other proposed bills include amendments to the Tax Procedures Law, the VAT Law, the Income Tax Law, the Local Taxes Law, and the Real Estate Revaluation Law, among others.
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