FLASH
Shkruar nga Arben Malaj
Keeping the list secret is a violation of the OECD's fiscal transparency standard...
Who is entitled to “fiscal peace”? International standards are clear: The list of beneficiaries must be published. The debate in Albania over “fiscal peace” is not technical, it is a fundamental test of public integrity.
When the first 10 years of debt are forgiven, we are no longer dealing with "privacy," but with taxpayer money being given to certain individuals or businesses. And when public money is used, transparency is an obligation, not an option.
These are the international standards, without any doubt, without any equivocation:
1. European Union – The rule is mandatory: NAMES ARE PUBLISHED
There is no EU country that hides the beneficiaries of tax forgiveness. Why? Because the EU considers tax debt forgiveness as "state aid."
And EU law requires: Any state aid over 5,000 euros publishes the name of the beneficiary. No excuses. No exceptions. “Privacy” is not a valid reason.
This is done to: avoid corruption, limit clientelism, protect fair competition, preserve the integrity of public finances. If Albania aspires to the EU, it cannot invent “fiscal secrets” that the EU considers a violation.
OECD – Debt forgiveness is a public expense. Therefore, full transparency is needed.
The OECD is clear: Any forgone public revenue is a fiscal expenditure and must be fully transparent. The forgiveness of debts is not "mercy", but a use of public funds.
Albanians have the right to know: who benefits, how much they benefit, why they benefit.
Keeping the list secret is a violation of the OECD's fiscal transparency standard.
IMF – Amnesty and pardons require individualized reporting.
The Monetary Fund is even more categorical: Any tax amnesty is "high fiscal risk."
For this reason, the IMF requires: publication of the list of beneficiaries, cost analysis for the budget, parliamentary review of implementation, ex-post checks for possible political connections.
So, hiding the list is against the recommendations of the IMF, the main institution that monitors the country's public finances.
GDPR – Data protection has nothing to do with hiding beneficiaries. The Minister of Finance has given the weakest possible argument: privacy. But GDPR (the European law that Albania has copied) expressly allows the publication of data: when there is an important public interest, when it comes to the use of taxpayers' money, when the public has the right to know how state funds are distributed.
Practical implementation of GDPR:
Names are published
Businesses and NIPTs are published
The amount forgiven is published
Addresses, personal IDs, sensitive data are hidden.
So the minister is using privacy as a political, not legal, reason. The conclusion that cannot be avoided
According to all international standards (EU, OECD, IMF, GDPR), the list of beneficiaries of "fiscal peace" must be fully published.
Non-publication of the list: contradicts EU practice; contradicts IMF recommendations; contradicts OECD standards; cannot be protected by any article of the GDPR; creates serious suspicions of abuse and clientelism; is a violation of the transparency and integrity of public finances.
If the government seeks to forgive 10-year debts and does not indicate who to forgive, this is not fiscal policy, it is a clear risk of state capture.
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