Sali Berisha has accused the government of increasing the fiscal burden on Albanian businesses, warning of bankruptcies and job losses. In a video message from the Democratic Party headquarters, Berisha said the announced package provides for raising the dividend tax from 8% to 15%, the profit tax from 15% to 17%, and lowering the VAT threshold from 10 to 5 million lekë. According to the Democratic leader, these measures will also push up prices for citizens. Berisha promised that when the DP comes to power, it will cancel the package and introduce a flat 10% tax, raise the VAT threshold to 15 million lekë, and reduce VAT on food and basic goods to 6%.
Full video message:
Dear citizens, yesterday, in a sneaky and underhanded act, without consulting any factor or interest group, the godfather of the country, with Petrit Balluku in charge of finance, announced that they will raise taxes by hundreds of millions of euros for Albanian businesses.
They announce that they will double the dividend tax from 8 to 15%, raise the profit tax from 15 to 17%, and lower the VAT turnover threshold from 10 million to 5 million.
In short, the truth is that they will drive hundreds and thousands of businesses to bankruptcy and destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Friends, this treacherous measure comes at a time when, because of Edi Rama’s narco-state, the euro and the dollar have suffered the largest depreciation in the world, 35% each. As a result, the country’s exports have depreciated just as much, industrial production has fallen by 15.3%, and exports have dropped by 28%.
This tax increase marks a further wave of bankruptcies, and further price increases for Albanians. And when you think that all of this ends up in the pockets and bank accounts of a criminal organization, the crime becomes monstrous.
I promise Albanian citizens that the Democratic Party will cancel this package and introduce a flat 10% tax, raise the VAT payment threshold to 15 million lekë, and reduce VAT on food and basic goods to 6%.