Local per capita tax by municipalities in Albania in 2019

If we refer to the revenue items in relation to a year ago, we find that in relation to the same period of the previous year we have a greater increase in all revenue items, both in local taxes and in that one. of small business.

The sustainability of the increase of local taxes in 2019 is noticed, providing an income for the budget of 17.5 billion Lekë.

The small business tax does not have a high share in local revenues and in 2019 it reached the value of 355 million ALL. Compared to 2018, the property tax has remained almost at the same level, not reflecting changes in 2019 and has generated 5.2 billion Lekë for the local budget.

In an analysis of the structure of budget revenues of 61 municipalities in Albania, 41% of revenues come from taxes, fees and charges and 59% come from other local revenues and transfers from budget. The remaining part that is completed by the transfers from the state budget is carried out according to the formula defined in the budget law, as well as through the allocation of the so-called competitive grants, for specific projects in special municipalities.

In the analysis of local taxes paid by residents on behalf of the local government, fiscal policy has oriented the fiscal burden mainly on individuals who are residents in cities and less on individuals who are residents in the village. Given the fact that 51% of the population has a fiscal residence in the municipal units of the villages, then this social group of the population is even more relieved by the fiscal burden of local government.

The burden of local taxes, fees and charges consists mainly of two main items: (a) the local tax group, which is entitled to Municipal Councils to make reductions up to 30% above official rates, (b) tax on wealth, which from 2019 changed the way of calculation and taxation passing as a tax that is applied on the value of wealth. After the ’90s, this tax was oriented to tax the area with fees that were different from one municipality to another, according to the category they hold.

The share of revenues collected by the local government through the tax administration that each municipality has occupies 5% of all budget revenues and spends as much as 10% of budget revenues.
The rest of the revenue available to municipalities, which is 5% of the state budget, is allocated to them, according to the budget law, from revenues collected from taxes and fees collected from central fiscal administrations. If we start from the logic of the fiscal residence, about 30% of businesses in the country have the location of their activity in areas outside the cities. This part mostly belongs to the taxes and fees that these businesses pay to the central budget, on behalf of the GDT.

Local taxes and fees

The fiscal burden on local taxes, tariffs & fees, which are paying Small Businesses, Individuals and Families,
consists of:

1. Property tax
2. Simplified tax on profit for small business
3. Accommodation tax at the hotel
4. Influence of infrastructure impact on new buildings
5. Tax on the transfer of immovable property rights
6. Table Fee
7. Temporary market tax
8. Green fee
9. Cleaning and Disposal Fee
10. Private beach fees (for coastal areas)
11. Fee for permits for structure use
12. Parking fee for vehicles
13. Lighting fee
14. Fee for occupying public space
15. Administrative service fees of the Municipality
16. Tariff for public transport
17. Authorization fee for fuel trade
18. Authorization fee for traffic in the city
19. Fee for issuing work activity permits
20. Veterinary service fee
21. Urban Planning Fee
22. Tariff of the institutions of the Municipality
23. Taxes administered by tax agents

When analyzing how much is the fiscal burden that individuals and businesses pay directly on behalf of the local government, it should be borne in mind that they also bear the burden of taxes and state budget taxes (consumption taxes and income taxes, as well as contributions of insurance and national taxes).

Local per capita tax according to municipalities in Albania, which is considered a fiscal burden for residents, based on the average value of local taxes paid for 2019 in relation to the number of inhabitants, which has registered each of the 61 municipalities results in an average value for spirit that serves to rank them depending on the result.

The Municipality of Roskovec holds the 1st place, with the highest per capita payment of local taxes, with an annual load of 52.5 thousand ALL for citizens (based only on the population registered in the city) and 14.5 thousand Lekë per capita for all inhabitants who are part of of the municipality of Rroskovec. Meanwhile, the total expenditures for the citizens are 120.7 Lekë, as well as for the total inhabitants of the Municipality where the village is included are 33.4 thousand Lekë per inhabitant.

In the following column, if we look at the difference in value between taxes and local fees with expenditures at the civic level, they are 65.2 thousand Lekë, while if in the following column this difference is between taxes and fees at the municipal level with total expenditures per capita, then the value is 18.9 thousand Lekë. The last column is the ratio between the contribution of taxes and local tariffs in total of the municipality of Roskovec to the contribution of local taxes and fees in the whole region of Fier.

The same logic is used for all other municipalities listed in the table above.

Large municipalities, such as Tirana, which is in 4th place, Fier in 15th place, Durrës in 28th place, Shkodra in 29th place, Elbasan in 31st place, Vlora in 34th place are the indicator of the load of citizens and residents. with local taxes per capita at levels representing the local policies of these Unions and counties for the fiscal burdens of citizens and their residents within the limit of a load approved by the Municipal Council with ± 30% deviation from the levels approved in the law on local taxes.

When we consider the influential factors, the measurement of the fiscal burden is not a measure of the extent of the budgetary effect of the government or public administration (its composition). On the other hand, it is not even the measurement of all the obligations that a taxpayer carries in function of the income that he realizes within a year (payment for non-fiscal institutions).

The fiscal burden in value, which is presented as local tax per capita, results from the tax / tax ratio and the local fee collected in the state budget with the number of resident residents (a) for the city, as well as for (b) the city and village.

To create a general perception of how much the average fiscal burden belongs to each individual, who is a fiscal resident in Albania, regardless of whether he is an active taxpayer or not, the table above shows that the fiscal burden varies depending on the municipality. average per capita.

Thus, the average fiscal burden per capita in the district of Tirana is 22.1 thousand ALL / year for citizens and 18.2 thousand ALL for all residents if the city and the village are included together, although the village contributes relatively less taxes than the city. In the simplest sense, a citizen of Tirana as an individual pays an average of 22,100 ALL per year in taxes and fees per year, while if we include the village this summer decreases by reaching a payment level of 18,200 ALL per year, due to the fact that a load of certain local taxes and fees are also paid by taxpayers who are resident residents of the village.

This confrontation clearly shows the fact that the state budget has received more than it has given for them. But, if we include in this analysis the capital investments of the budget, for infrastructure, educational, health projects, as well as other expenses, then the situation of expenditures that are distributed from the budget for all regions shows an increase of their weight to GDP, starting from the projects. developmental, but without being affected by budget payments through fiscal burden. This discrepancy is explained by the concentration of consumer and wholesale trade industry in these large counties. But on the other hand, the various zonal differences over many decades are the object of transfer or distribution of costs according to development initiatives.

An interesting indicator of the distribution of the fiscal burden is the value added tax burden for each individual. In 2019, each individual Albanian fiscal resident contributed to the budget for this tax, but also non-residents (foreigners), with 55 thousand ALL per year for the consumption of services and goods during their stay in Albania.

This calculation is closer to the correct perception, because this tax is paid by each individual when buying goods or services.

The detail information cound be found in publication of ALTAX about Tax burden 2020