Integrated income tax to be discussed in 2018: Beqiraj explains what is at stake

The integrated income tax project is a project planned since 2015, concretized in the form of a draft law in co-operation with the International Monetary Fund.

This was confirmed by former Deputy Finance Minister Irena Beqiraj on Argument, a show hosted by journalist Enio Civici.

Citing the statement of few days ago by the Minister of Finance, Beqiraj said that next year will see discussions on this project and there will be no application for it.

“The Finance Minister seemed very clear when he said that next year we will start discussing the project proposing integrated income tax. It will not start in 2018 but the Ministry of Finance will at least start the discussion. It is a draft law that was drafted in September 2015 with the IMF. It is avant-garde and brings about a change in taxation philosophy and needs broad discussion,” Beqiraj said.

For the drafts, Beqiraj says this bill strengthens the use of the personal income statement.

Beqiraj revealed that currently this statement is filled by only about 6,000 people, that is, individuals who declare over ALL 2 million per year.

This initiative, according to Beqiraj, creates opportunities to undertake incentive policies, such as spending deductions of interest of loans or education spending.

On the other hand, this draft law proposes another concept for corporate taxation where profit tax will only apply to businesses that have the form of a legal entity, therefore SHAs and SHPKs taxed differently from those who are registered as physical persons.

As for the discussions on foreign companies that are listed in fiscal paradises, Beqiraj offered an alternative proposal.

According to her, a differentiated dividend tax should be applied to foreign companies that come to Albania to invest but are registered in fiscal paradises.

According to Beqiraj, dividend tax for these companies may be 35% from 15% that it currently is.

“All the companies we have problems with, that we do not know their origins and with profits that go out of Albania, let us make them pay a 35% dividend tax, as it is the case with the Czech Republic. I would generally be against the total ban on capital coming from offshore. The fact that capital just comes from a fiscal haven does not mean that it is illegal capital,” Beqiraj said.

SCAN

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