An open dialogue took place today between the business community and Prime Minister Edi Rama, Minister of Economy and Innovation Delina Ibrahimaj, and Minister of Finance Petrit Malaj, marking the launch of a new chapter of cooperation aimed at formalization and sustainable economic growth in the country.

The meeting served as an opportunity for communication and listening between the parties, with the goal of strengthening bridges of cooperation around the challenges and priorities related to Albania’s development. Discussions focused on Fiscal Peace and the opportunities it offers businesses to build a new bridge of trust and healthy interaction between the tax administration and entrepreneurship.

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Prime Minister Edi Rama:
Greetings to everyone , and thank you for taking the time to be here with us today, to share some of our views and yours, with Fiscal Peace at the center of the discussion.

Fiscal Peace was a commitment of our electoral campaign and today it is law, despite some debates that failed to address the essence of this initiative. We are now in a position where, starting from January of next year, we can implement this initiative. It is, first and foremost, an initiative to build a new bridge of trust and healthy interaction between the tax administration and entrepreneurship. It is not our invention. The very term “fiscal peace” originated in ancient Rome and has been an instrument used for thousands of years.

Secondly, it is an instrument that gives all enterprises that are not in conflict with the law, those not involved in investigative or judicial proceedings of any kind and that appear in state registers as legitimate contributors, the opportunity to review their fiscal statements from previous years. This review allows businesses to correct themselves, to self-correct by re-filing past declarations, with the motivation and incentive of a much lower profit tax than the one paid regularly. In other words, for every corrected statement, profit is taxed at only 5 percent.

This increases formalization, does not undermine the legal integrity of the entire interaction, and certainly helps a process in which businesses can focus more on their work and their challenges, without carrying the burden of the past. This goes hand in hand with a comprehensive approach to fines, which, depending on the period and their age, range from full cancellation to payment in installments, again with facilitations.

Likewise, at the core of Fiscal Peace is the agreement with businesses on setting a new profit ceiling. This means that, based on a scientific projection of profit derived from profits of previous years, plus expected economic growth, and on the proposal to accept a figure X as the annual profit, the administration and the business reach an agreement. From that point on, there are no inspections, no controls, and no administrative or bureaucratic complications, which often weigh far more heavily than the fiscal burden itself.

This is, in essence, the overall framework of Fiscal Peace. From it, we expect further energizing of entrepreneurship, further formalization of the economy, and further easing of work processes for businesses. By being freed from the burden of yesterday’s shortcomings and by projecting themselves into the future through an understanding-based agreement with the administration, businesses will have far more energy to focus on their work and will not be consumed by bureaucratic procedures or inspections and controls, which often carry a significant burden and affect both operational calm and workplace psychology. This is, more or less, what lies at the heart of this initiative.

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Following this, Prime Minister Rama engaged in an open discussion with participants and, in closing, stated:

At the end of the day, all the figures we proudly cite, the growth of GDP, which is heading toward tripling since we took office; the fact that we inherited an Albania with less than 10 billion and today we stand at 27; the increase in income per capita, which has also more than tripled and which we believe will reach 15 thousand euros per capita by the end of this mandate, are all ultimately linked to your work. They are linked to your sacrifices, dedication, and effort, and to your families who support you in this demanding endeavor.

People see our work here from the outside, and yours as well, and think “lucky them,” while you know very well that, without complaining, the work is extremely challenging at these levels. And you are businesses of that kind: you started with little, today you have become strong, but that strength requires extraordinary energy drawn from everyday life.

I say this to truly wish every blessing and all the best to your families, to wish you good health as families, and that you never have to face health problems at home. And of course, to wish you further success. Your continued success is our success, because you will earn more, we will collect more taxes, more revenues, and together we will, hopefully, do better work.

So, Happy New Year. A year of Fiscal Peace, may you have peace. But never forget one thing: everyone is important, but the most important are those who work for you, and everything you take away from them is recorded in the “account of hell” where you will end up.

Thank you.