FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The Ministry of Finance maintains the highest taxation rate for the media in all of Europe, at a time when the country seeks to meet freedom of information and free market standards.
Albania has opened the last cluster of negotiations with the European Union. This step requires compliance with European market standards and fair competition. However, the Minister of Finance maintains a reality that contradicts the principle of freedom of information and the practices of member states. Albanian media pay 20 percent VAT, a rate that is not found in countries with small markets or fragile economies.
This is a clear contrast. The government aspires to integration, but the fiscal policy towards the media shows a lack of coherence. The Minister of Finance presents VAT as a neutral instrument, but this norm has concrete consequences. It reduces the capacity of the media to invest in quality. It increases their dependence on other sources of funding. It creates direct pressure on editorial decision-making. In this situation we see a policy that hits the very sector that should support transparency and democratic control.
Albania is the only country in Europe that keeps the VAT rate for the media at the level of the general VAT. European Union countries treat the media as a sector that supports democratic functioning. Italy has 4 percent. France has 2.1 percent for the press. Germany has 7 percent. Croatia, Slovenia, Greece and Bulgaria have between 5 and 10 percent. Kosovo has zero. No country equates the media with any other commercial activity.
This fact raises direct questions for the Minister of Finance. Does the Minister understand that EU standards require support from sectors that bear the burden of public information? Does the Minister understand that a media market hit by high taxation loses its capacity to produce accurate and independent information. Does the Minister understand that financial transparency does not work when state policy itself creates obstacles.
The government has placed itself in a situation where it declares a commitment to integration and at the same time maintains a fiscal policy that is not found in any European country. This duality damages the credibility of the negotiation process. The European Union does not only require the fulfillment of technical criteria. It requires the protection of freedom of information and the guarantee of pluralism. A 20 percent VAT for the media contradicts this requirement.
Albania cannot advance in the integration process by maintaining policies that harm precisely the sectors that ensure the flow of information and the transparency of governance. The Minister of Finance has a clear duty to review this policy. Any delay harms the market. Any silence worsens the information climate. In a country that seeks to be included in the European family, there is no place for fiscal treatment that stifles the media./ Pamphlet
Lini një Përgjigje