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Liberal professions against lowering the VAT threshold to 5 million lekë: We will take it to the Constitutional Court again

2026-11-12 12:59:00Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Liberal professions against lowering the VAT threshold to 5 million lekë:
Committee on Economy, Employment and Finance

The reduction of the VAT threshold from 10 million to 5 million lekë has caused opposition from representatives of the liberal professions, who warned that they will again appeal to the Constitutional Court if the legal changes are approved in their current form.

During discussions in the Committee on Economy, Employment and Finance in the Albanian Parliament, lawyer Lulzim Alushaj, representative of the Alliance of Liberal Professions, requested that the government review the proposal, recalling the previous legal battle over the income tax of liberal professionals, which they won in the Constitutional Court.

"The immediate and drastic reduction of the threshold will affect a portion of the liberal professions. How much will the government collect from the reduction of the threshold and what impact does this have on the liberal professions? If this law passes in this form, there are several shortcomings that need to be addressed in the Constitutional Court," Alushaj declared.

 According to him, inclusion in the VAT scheme will particularly hit professionals who provide services, such as lawyers, dentists and auditors, as the cost increase cannot always be transferred to the consumer.

"An immediate 21% increase in the VAT formula would directly affect the income of professionals, because as soon as they were freed from a burden in 2024, from income tax, they were hit with a second blow, which is the introduction into the VAT scheme," he said.

Alushaj also raised concerns about the retroactive effect that, according to him, the proposed changes to VAT and dividends have, arguing that they violate legal certainty.

"The dividend law is retroactive and the VAT law is retroactive. Both are in complete violation of the Constitution. We ask you to have some kind of reflection on this," the lawyer said.

He warned that freelancers are ready to follow the same legal path as in the case of income tax: "If this law passes in this form, there are some shortcomings that need to be addressed in the Constitutional Court," said Alushaj, asking for reflection from lawmakers.

Meanwhile, accountant Artur Papajani warned that lowering the VAT threshold could encourage informality, instead of fighting it.

"We have not seen this speed of change in the threshold, with a strange amplitude, in other countries. We went from 2 million directly to 10 million, from 10 to 5 million, and this has consequences for the number of taxpayers," Papajani declared.

He rejected the argument that lowering the threshold will help in the fight against informality, emphasizing that the businesses affected are registered entities.

"It has nothing to do with the informality threshold, because all those that cross the threshold are formal, registered businesses. By bringing them back, they will try to promote informality, they will try to divide the turnover, and this is not in the best interest of everyone," he said.

Papajani proposed that the VAT threshold be set at 8 million lekë, referring to calculations that, according to him, have been made by the International Monetary Fund. He also requested that the costs that businesses and the tax administration will incur from implementing the new scheme be assessed.

According to him, changing the threshold risks affecting some farmers, who may lose benefits from the compensation scheme.

Lawyer Alushaj also rejected the claim that the tax administration is prepared to implement the changes, citing unjustified fines, failure to return responses, and extension of deadlines.

Discussions on fiscal changes were also accompanied by a debate between lawyer Lulzim Alushaj and socialist MP Erion Braçe.

"We are not ready, Albanian business, the liberal professions are not ready for every two years, every government of this country to change fiscal laws. The last law on income tax had been changed, when we studied it, 48 times. In a country like Albania, changing a law on income tax 48 times is a lot. The VAT law that you have in front of you was approved two years ago, it is the fourth time that it is being modified. This does not provide legal certainty, not only to entities, but also to investors, to anyone. This should be seen in a slightly broader context, in addition to the fact that we are being overloaded with taxes and VAT," continued Alushaj during the discussion on the fiscal package.

"The citizens voted for you, sir, and you must be correct in what you say. Taxes are not ready to carry out this reform. Modify the state, because you have it for example. The state we have today is for example," Alushaj addressed the socialist MP.

"Don't tell me the citizen," Braçe replied.

The debate continued on the manner of conducting the discussion, while Alushaj opposed the interruption of the speech.

"No, I'm not turning off the microphone, because you're not running the session," said the lawyer.

"Look, just so you're clear, I don't have a private state. The state where you operate and make money, that state I have too. I get a salary, I don't make money like you. I am a farmer by profession. I am a farmer by profession. But, so you understand next time, don't use this kind of arrogance anywhere. Who are you to give advice?", Braçe replied.


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