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US Chamber of Commerce concerned about 'fiscal peace': It should be reviewed from the beginning!

2025-12-11 11:17:17Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

The US Chamber of Commerce today expressed concern about the draft law “On the Fiscal Peace Agreement”, which is expected to be put to a vote today in the parliamentary session. According to the US Chamber, the proposed text presents “a series of issues with far-reaching legal, economic and fiscal governance implications”.

In a statement, the American Chamber points out 6 problematic moments, ranging from the risk of violating fair competition, to the real opportunities created for the legalization of capital of dubious origin, the reduction in the quality of tax administration, the economic and fiscal consequences, legal problems and the violation of fundamental principles of taxation, or the lack of transparency and insufficient public consultation about the draft law.

The US House recommends a full review of the text proposed for approval in parliament, noting that according to it, "fiscal reforms must be based on clear principles of transparency, equality, and the rule of law, standards that this bill, in its current form, does not fully meet."

The draft law was accompanied by debates and discussions in parliamentary committees, but it was approved without changes by the socialist majority.

Full statement

The American Chamber of Commerce in Albania (AmCham), as a constructive partner in public dialogue, has always reflected high sensitivity and responsibility towards reforms that affect the business climate, economic development and market integrity. As an organization representing the interests of the American and Albanian investor community, AmCham attaches fundamental importance to transparency, equal standards of competition and sustainable medium and long-term policies.

In this context, AmCham expresses its concern about the draft law "On the Fiscal Peace Agreement", which is currently under consideration in the Assembly and is expected to be approved in the session on December 11, 2025. Our professional assessment highlights a series of issues with far-reaching legal, economic, and fiscal governance impacts.

1. High risk of undermining fair competition

The draft law proposes a scheme in which businesses that have correctly declared profits over the years are placed in a disadvantageous position, while entities that have evaded tax obligations directly benefit.

The provision of a mandatory increase of 18% of the previous year's profit, regardless of the sector or the taxpayer's actual performance, replaces the self-declaration process with an arbitrary formula that does not reflect the entity's actual financial performance and creates an unfair burden on regular taxpayers.

Conversely, businesses with historically low profit declarations benefit from the low calculation base, causing significant distortion of competition. This situation harms serious businesses and conflicts with the constitutional principle of equality before the law.

2. Real possibility for legalization of capital of dubious origin

The draft law allows for the restatement of financial statements for the past five years, including the disclosure of previously unreported cash, the write-off of liabilities, or the disclosure of other unrecorded assets, without the need to justify them as accounting/tax errors or intentional non-disclosures. In any case, the differences are taxed at a reduced rate of only 5%. This change to historical financial statements is permitted without supporting documentation or clear justifications, thus jeopardizing the fundamental principles of National and International Accounting Standards that require consistency and reliability of financial information.

The lack of obligation to verify the origin of funds creates the risk that capital with unclear or potentially criminal sources is legalized through this scheme.

The lack of strong control mechanisms in line with anti-money laundering legislation and the exclusion of auditors from liability for differences created increase the risk that this initiative will be perceived as an indirect form of fiscal amnesty.

Such a development undermines taxpayers' trust in the fiscal system and damages the country's international reputation, especially in the context of assessments by the EU and Moneyval.

The draft law could also jeopardize the country's efforts to meet the recommendations of the OECD's BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) task force, which aims to combat international tax evasion.

3. Decrease in the quality of tax administration

The draft law significantly limits tax control over income tax during the agreement period, relying solely on administrative “desk” verifications. This approach weakens the tax administration’s ability to identify evasion and creates a fertile ground for abuse.

The draft law does not provide clear and objective criteria for selecting taxpayers who can benefit from the fiscal peace agreement (such as tax risk assessment, historical performance of declarations, etc., to avoid including taxpayers who have repeatedly evaded taxes). Also, the draft law does not contain mandatory deadlines within which the tax administration must review the taxpayer's request and draft and send the agreement proposal.

Furthermore, the possibility of renewing the agreement for up to two more years creates a dependency between the administration and taxpayers, turning this instrument into a potential pressure or favoritism mechanism with a high risk of corruption.

4. Serious economic and fiscal consequences

A tax rate of only 5% will be applied in the case where the realized profit increases above 18%, as well as in the case of re-declaration of other financial items. This creates a significant gap between the regular tax rates (15% for corporate income and 23% for certain categories of businesses) and the preferential rate of the scheme.

This large difference has no economic justification and creates a strong incentive for all businesses to move towards the “fiscal peace” scheme, significantly reducing potential state budget revenues. In a period where fiscal stability and predictability are required, this scheme encourages tax avoidance and shrinks the existing tax base.

Moreover, given that over 90% of taxpayers currently benefit from tax exemptions, the tax base narrows even further, increasing inequality and reducing fiscal efficiency.

5. Legal problems and violation of fundamental principles of taxation

The draft law touches on several basic principles of tax and constitutional law, including:

the principle of equality before the law;
the principle of legal certainty;
the principle of proportionality;
the principle of equal treatment of taxpayers.
The draft law is not accompanied by the sub-legal acts that would enable its implementation, while it is envisaged that these acts will be adopted three months after the law enters into force – a deadline that creates high legal and operational uncertainty.

The draft law sends the wrong message to the business community, creating the perception that voluntary compliance with tax laws is not rewarded, while tax evaders can benefit from temporary amnesty mechanisms. International studies have clearly shown that such schemes severely damage the culture of tax compliance in the long term.

6. Lack of transparency and insufficient public consultation

AmCham expresses concern about the lack of transparency and broad public consultation during the drafting of this draft law (and other initiatives of the 2026 fiscal package). The limited deadline for reviewing and providing suggestions for an initiative with such a significant fiscal, economic and legal impact is not in line with good legislative practices.

The accelerated process limits the ability of businesses and experts to provide quality comments, undermining trust in the legislative process and raising questions about the quality and legitimacy of this reform.

RECOMMENDATIONS

In the spirit of constructive dialogue and support for sustainable reforms, AmCham calls for a full review of the draft law. Albania needs fiscal policies that:

promote formalization and honest fiscal behavior;

guarantee fair competition;

strengthen the integrity of the tax administration;

maintain business confidence and the country's international reputation.

Fiscal reforms must be based on clear principles of transparency, equality and the rule of law, standards that this draft law, in its current form, does not fully meet.


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