Berisha: No VAT removal on basic food

Prime Minister Berisha will not decrease VAT on food product, because it would damage the domestic production.

“We cannot allow impoverishing the farmers that live with their own productions. They must sell it for making a living”, Berisha declared.

The Prime Minister declared that the fiscal revolution of his government will continue, but not in the direction proposed by the Socialist Party.

The Prime Minister Sali Berisha also mentioned the competences of the local administration, warning of a wide decentralization action.

“Within the first two months we will take all decisions for realizing an important decentralization”, Berisha declared.

The environment was another matter for which the Prime Minister warned new legal measures that aim to involve the local units in the environment protection process.
 
SP proposition

In the beginning of this month, Gramoz Ruci, leader of the SP Parliamentary Group, handed over to the Parliament Speaker, Jozefina Topalli, the draft for changing the law on VAT.

The Socialist draft, a copy of which has been secured by Top-Channel, aims that the supplies of “wheat, flour, bread, milk and eggs should have 0 VAT, while cooking oil, sugar and rice should have 10% VAT instead of 20%, starting from January 1st 2012. The third article of the draft demands that the medical goods acquired by public and private health institutions should be excluded from VAT.”

Together with the draft, the Parliament Speaker has received a report in which the Socialists have listed a series of reasons why VAT should be removed from these goods.

“These basic food products today take half of the total budget of a family with average revenues, while most of the Albanians cannot put aside any of their revenues”, says the report.

The Socialists say that the financial burden for every Albanian family in the last 5 years has increased with 18%. During this period, although the revenues for consume increased with 44%, the price of some of the basic products has increased as it follows:

Electricity has increased with 62%
Medicines with 43%
Health Service, 50%
Flour, bread, sugar, oil and rice, 52%

Top Channel