The 2027 Fiscal Package is facing strong resistance from business organizations, which oppose the increase of several taxes and denounce a lack of consultation by the government. According to business representatives, the changes put up for discussion risk increasing costs for companies, slowing investment and creating new pressure on employment and prices.
Which measures are being opposed
At the center of the objections are the increase in corporate profit tax to 17%, the increase in dividend tax from 8% to 15%, the increase in VAT for tourism from 6% to 10%, and the reduction of the VAT threshold to 5 million lek.
The Tirana Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Pro Export Albania argue that these moves are coming at a time when businesses are already facing high costs and the depreciation of the euro, which they say makes the new fiscal burden even heavier for entrepreneurship.
Chamber of Commerce: taxes are being increased without real dialogue
The Tirana Chamber of Commerce and Industry supports reducing VAT to 6% for basic food basket products, a demand it says it has raised for years. But it opposes having that relief accompanied by other tax increases for businesses and consumers.
According to the Chamber, with corporate profit tax at 17% and standard VAT at 21%, Albania would rank among the countries with the highest rates in the Western Balkans. It also opposes the increase in dividend tax, arguing that it harms reinvested profit and domestic capital.
The Chamber has also made a direct accusation about the way the process is moving forward: on October 9, it says it sent the recommendations of the business community to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, but received no response. According to this account, business organizations learned the content of the package through the media and without any consultation meeting.
Tourism and small business at the center of concerns
One of the most debated points remains the increase in VAT for tourism from 6% to 10%. According to the Chamber of Commerce, the measure is being proposed at an inappropriate moment for the sector, while the euro has weakened and contracts for the 2027 season are being concluded at fixed prices.
There is also opposition to lowering the VAT threshold to 5 million lek. According to businesses, this measure would affect shops, artisans and neighborhood services, increasing the risk that part of small-scale activity could be pushed toward informality.
Manufacturers: €85 million more in burden each year
The Albanian Manufacturers Union has also lined up against the package, warning that the proposed changes will cost businesses about €85 million more per year. According to data published by the organization, the increase in corporate profit tax alone from 15% to 17% and in dividend tax from 8% to 15% is enough to bring the additional burden to that level.
According to its calculations, more taxes mean less net profit for companies and, as a result, less internal funding for investment, modernization or business expansion. The organization also warns of pressure on prices, as businesses may try to absorb the increased costs.
Pro Export Albania has expressed a similar position, raising concern for the manufacturing and exporting sector, which it says has for years been facing the depreciation of the euro, rising costs, lower production capacity and job losses.
Main demand: no approval without consultation
Despite the differences between the sectors they represent, business organizations are uniting around one essential demand: that the fiscal changes not be approved without real consultation with entrepreneurs.
The Chamber of Commerce is calling for the suspension of changes that increase tax rates until consultations are held, the preservation of the current rates for corporate profit tax, standard VAT and the VAT threshold, as well as a review of the proposals on dividends and tourism. It is also demanding the publication of an impact analysis on investment, employment, prices, consumption, informality and competitiveness.
The clash over the 2027 Fiscal Package is highlighting not only a debate over tax rates, but also the way decisions that directly affect the economy are being made. So far, from the side of business organizations, the message is clear: without consultation and without a full analysis of the consequences, the package is being seen more as a burden than as a reform.
In a climate where businesses speak of rising costs, a weak euro and pressure on production, every new tax risks translating into less investment and greater uncertainty in the market.