TIRANA, Oct 27 /ATA/ Democratic Party chairman Sali Berisha said today that the government was increasing the tax burden on Albanian businesses.
In a video message from the Democratic Party headquarters, Berisha said the announced package envisaged raising the dividend tax from 8% to 15%, increasing the corporate income tax from 15% to 17%, and lowering the VAT registration threshold from 10 million to 5 million lek.
He warned that the measures would push hundreds of thousands of businesses towards bankruptcy and lead to the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs. He added that the country’s exports had also suffered a significant decline, with industrial production falling by 15.3% and exports dropping by 28%.
According to Berisha, the measures would also lead to higher prices for consumers.
“This tax increase will cause further business failures and drive prices even higher for Albanians,” he stressed.
Berisha pledged that, if the Democratic Party came to power, it would repeal the package, introduce a flat tax rate of 10%, raise the VAT registration threshold to 15 million lek and cut VAT on food and essential goods to 6%.
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