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Morning mail/ With 2 lines: What was important yesterday in Albania
The car hits the pedestrian in Fier, he is sent to the hospital in serious condition
The report is approved, Kosovo one step closer to membership in the Council of Europe
Gjekmarkaj letter to the Court of Appeal: Return legality to the Democratic Party and the opposition
The date when Albania will perform at Euovision is published
Rama 'worries' about income declaration, IMF: Construction and chrome, sources of VAT fraud
While a few days ago, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced that he will target the income of the professional class, according to which this layer pays the minimum tax against the income that makes them a middle class.
Contrary to what the Prime Minister warned in a recent report from the IMF, it shows that the biggest concern in the fiscal system comes from other sectors. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) a few days ago concluded its visit to Albania, which it finalized with a report on the country's economy and how the government has reacted to the crisis.
The IMF report notes that the main concerns in Albania's fiscal system are the public works contracting sector and the chrome mining sector.
According to a report prepared by the IMF analyzed by BIRN, these two sectors, which are controlled by a number of politically linked businessmen, are presented as "major sources of VAT fraud".
On the other hand, the report states that construction is also considered as one of the sectors that avoids tax obligations. The report advises "focusing on the construction sector" as it notes that the chrome mining sector is also a major source of VAT fraud.
The focus of the report is on the construction of non-residential buildings, such as roads, schools or Urban Renaissance projects.
"While the underreporting of VAT is widespread throughout the Albanian economy, the construction sector stands on its own as particularly problematic. "Target the construction sector with particular attention and consider establishing an 'inverted liability' regime to prevent tax losses in the supply chain from subcontractors," adds the IMF.
BIRN in the analysis made has explained a calculation that is missing from the IMF report. The schemes she refers to are not mere fiscal evasions, they are fiscal fraud. And this fiscal fraud is obviously not carried out by small and elusive companies, but by large public works contractors.
Skema funksionon pak a shumë kështu: Një kontraktor merr një kontratë nga një ent qeveritar, fjala vjen, Autoriteti Rrugor Shqiptar. Bashkë me kontratën, ai merr edhe rolin e agjentit tatimor. Pra i faturon punimet me 20% TVSH Autoritetit Rrugor dhe TVSH-në e marrë nga Autoriteti, ia derdh tatimeve. Por kontraktori në fjalë ka edhe TVSH të zbritshme. Ai merr fatura nga furnitorë të ndryshëm, për mallra dhe shërbime.
Vetëm se në Shqipëri, ka shumë raste që këto fatura lëshohen nga kompani të paqena, të cilat, pasi lëshojnë fatura prej miliona eurosh, “braktisen” nga pronarët e tyre. Tatimet mund t’i identifikojnë këto kompani dhe t’i çojnë në ndjekje penale, por ndërkohë, dënimi i pronarëve të tyre me disa muaj burg vështirë se e zhbën dëmin prej miliona eurosh që kanë pësuar taksapaguesit.
Contractors who receive obviously forged invoices, from companies without real activity, have no legal responsibility, because they are supposed to have paid the full VAT invoice to these companies, while these companies are responsible for why they did not pay VAT in Taxes. .
The solution to this situation, according to the IMF, is to apply the inverted VAT burden, in which the contracting company retains the obligation to pay VAT when its subcontractors fail to pay it.
"This scheme protects against subcontractors down the supply chain, who are supposed to bill VAT but then disappear," says the IMF.