‘Fiscal Peace’: Albanian Amnesty for Tax-Dodging Businesses Branded Unfair and Opaque

Ndoc, a 60-year-old restaurateur in northern Albania, prides himself on doing things by the book, paying his bills on time and keeping the taxman happy.

So, when Albania’s ruling Socialist Party announced last year that it would waive business tax debts older than a decade, Ndoc saw it as a stab in the back.

“I’ve been working in accordance with the rules since 1992; I pay insurance and all my tax obligations,” Ndoc told BIRN, on condition his surname was not published.

“But when I see that competing businesses that are not regular, that do not pay their bills like me are going to be amnestied by the state, it not only creates inequality but pushes me into doing the same.”

“Instead of supporting and favouring regular tax-paying businesses, they are pardoning businesses that operate ‘under the counter’.”

The debt amnesty is due to enter into force this month, having first been announced by the Socialist Party during its campaign for re-election in spring 2025.