The American Chamber of Commerce provides 8 recommendations for improving the business climate in Albania

At the conference on improving the business climate, he mentioned the recommendations, which included the approval of the anti-corruption package, public procurement procedures, efforts to avoid money laundering, activation of civil society, review of the draft income tax, the creation of spaces for Albanian exports, etc.

“So far addressing the problems and recommendations given has been slow. If 75% of the recommendations were realized, it would give the possibility of a favorable business climate, but we have only 33% of the completed recommendations. We have provided 40 important recommendations.

First structure to attract foreign investment, whoever attracts foreign investment has great benefits in the economy. Investments bring income, employment, investment in technology. Must have transparent investment strategies who are the priority. We think that there should be shortened procedures regarding investments, regarding construction permits. The best example is Northern Macedonia and Serbia which are focused on simple and short procedures. The opposite happens in Albania. There should be clear investment initiatives. There is a decrease in market concentration and a decrease in monopoly in some sectors.

Secondly, we demand the approval of an anti-corruption package in the Assembly. This aims to prevent corruption and is complementary to the legislature. We propose the adoption of anti-bribery legislation. Closely related to anti-corruption is reform. With the maximum elimination of exceptional cases, we think that in the conditions of Albania we should be as conservative as possible because we have had obvious cases of violations. We demand a reformatted public procurement system. There should be as few exceptional cases as possible that bypass standard public procurement procedures.

Civil society needs to be activated. We have probably one of the best public consultation laws but the problem is that it is not implemented properly. We recommend a number of instruments aimed at proper law enforcement. The better it works, the more public confidence increases.

Fifth, the tax system must comply with international standards. The tax system is important for businesses. Our principles are accounting standards. It has to be predictable which means businesses need to do their planning. If the laws change every year, it’s hard to predict. The best countries change the law no more often than once every 4 years.

The draft income tax does not meet international accounting standards. It is not in line with the formalization of the economy. Some points are inconsistent with fiscalization, and some points are not in line with competitiveness. It is a very complex draft.

Sixth, 7th and 8th are stimulating for the economy. All 6 are related to the creation of spaces for Albanian exports. There are even more opportunities to further expand exports and the diaspora can play a very important role.

7’s need more attention to the digital economy to further stimulate it. The first is the electronic signature to be used en masse. Much work needs to be done to combat money laundering. Albania for years in the gray list of Moneyval.

8 The professional ability of the workforce should be increased. It is a global problem but it needs to be solved. Public and private sector cooperation is needed to stop people leaving the country“, Said Jaço.

He added that compared to other countries in the region, Albania is lower than Serbia and Northern Macedonia in terms of investments, which has affected the business climate in our country.

“If we compare with RMV and Serbia we are down in investments in Albania. There are two factors that are making the climate more important. External factors with global challenges like the war in Ukraine that has accelerated inflationary pressures but cut off supply channels but on the other hand the business index has declined in the last 3-4 years. The index is important because it measures the business climate, and that worries us. “Albania has the business climate in its hands”, added Jaço.

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