Finance Ministry continues public debate on tax reform
Skopje, 15 August 2022 (MIA) – Public debate on the concept of tax reforms continued Monday at the Ministry of Finance. Following the presentation of tax reforms to representatives of the chambers and the media, today they were presented to the NGO sector, consulting and auditing companies and organizations.
Finance Minister Fatmir Besimi stressed that it was a draft version that’s to be defined after the public debate with all stakeholders ends, the Finance Ministry said in a press release.
“This is necessary for the tax reform to be sustainable. Tax reform is not a solution that should be seen as a need to provide more funds in the budget, but a reform that means achieving sustainable economic growth,” Besimi said, adding that the need to implement such a reform stems from the fact that the country has one of the lowest levels of participation of tax revenues and contributions to GDP compared to EU countries.
Besimi reiterated that there are still no final solutions and there will be no increase in taxes.
“The concept of tax reform refers to increasing the scope of income subject to taxation, by reconsidering the preferential treatment of certain categories of sources of income, investments and categories of business entities, as well as by introducing more taxpayers in the taxation system by reducing informal economy,” Besimi pointed out.
The public debate on tax reform was launched at the beginning of this month and will last through mid-September, which is to be followed by a proposal for legal solutions. In addition to the public debate, comments on the tax reform concept can be sent to a specifically created link on the website of the Ministry of Finance.
The reform is planned to be implemented gradually in the period from 2023 to 2025.
“The concept of tax reforms is based on the five priorities defined in the 2021-2025 Tax System Reform Strategy that refer to greater fairness in taxation; greater efficiency and effectiveness of the tax system for better revenue collection; increased tax transparency; better quality of services, and affirmation of an environmental tax policy,” said the Ministry of Finance.
