Fiscal evasion catches the peaks. Regional survey: 84% of businesses in Albania conceal income

Two years after the start of the fight against informality in the economy, the figures are shocking. A regional survey shows that in Albania, 84% of businesses hide their income. Prime Minister Edi Rama condemned the fall of 2015 that no one would stop the "historic process" that was being launched. Many economists have warned that business repression, including a special law to imprison those who did not give the tax coupon - which was later overruled by the Constitutional Court - would force businesses to find other ways to not Declared to worship, to increase their profits or to survive.

In his campaign accompanied by great propaganda, Prime Minister Rama gave populist explanations, such as September 2015, accompanied by a video.

"WARNING IS WARRANT AGAINST INFORMALITY

Let's see this very short video anyone who mistakenly thinks the operation against informality is a struggle with the small business! The opposite is true, this is a struggle with the stolen robbery from the old politics; With anarchy fueling twenty years of mismanagement that prevented us from becoming a state; With the poverty of the aspirations of a government that in the eight years before 23 June 2013 ruined people's trust in the institutions and turned the state into a servant of the ruling family. This is a struggle that protects the customer and makes the government a bona fide business partner. Nothing stops this historic process! "

A month before the propaganda meetings with merchants and citizens, the prime minister made this warning at a meeting with tax directors gathered at his office at the high temperatures of August 2015.

"This operation does not focus on the smallest but the widest. Notice open to all of you: Because it is universally known that informality is not just the product of business dealers but also of tax administration because of illegal behavior and actions. It is not a battle against business but to protect the Albanian consumer and business. We will make available addresses, communicaires or social networks where any unproductive display of the tax and customs administration will be made public. We will take action against taxpayers and provide the appropriate education. "

But the regional survey on hidden economy practices in Macedonia and Albania reveals that the economy of the Albanian economy is at its highest historical levels. Plenty of 84.3% of surveyed companies have confirmed that they tend to hide revenue steadily, in most cases, or even sometimes. For Macedonia the data is much lower compared to Albania. 54.4% of businesses confirm that they use the hidden economy practices repeatedly or sporadically.

The survey was conducted by the Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM) in Macedonia and the Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) in Albania. The methodology used is identical in both cases. The periods are different. In Macedonia, the survey was conducted at the end of 2016 and in Albania in mid-spring 2017 (April).

The report highlights the fact that hiding the turnover in order to avoid taxes is significant in Albania.

In a previous regional survey, 52% of Albanians stated they did not receive the tax coupon, despite 17% in Macedonia and 29% in Kosovo.