Jorida Tabaku, an Albanian MP from the Democratic Party, has strongly criticized a new government plan to give foreign hotels a 10-year tax break. She called it a “gift to tourism oligarchs” and said it would leave most Albanians and small businesses behind.
“Just one month after promising no tax changes, the government is offering tax breaks to a few companies,” Tabaku said.
She also criticized the delay of the Strategic Investments Law for the eighth time, saying it shows how laws are being changed for private interests. Tabaku warned that these tax breaks for big foreign companies would make the country’s economic inequality worse.
“How can it be right that foreign hotels don’t pay taxes, while local businesses and workers do?” she asked.
Tabaku questioned the government’s claim that these tax breaks would create 888 new jobs. She demanded more transparency and pointed out the 300,000 farmers who don’t get any tax breaks at all.
“How can we ignore this unfairness?” she said.
Tabaku called the government’s actions “shameful” and said they were giving too many privileges to big foreign hotels. “The government starts the year by giving tax breaks to 10-11 big hotels – it’s the worst thing they could do for our economy,” she added.
