33 million euros in undeclared income from social networks/ Anxhela Faber explains to CNA: Individuals uninformed about obligations

2025-06-25 12:18:00, Aktualitet CNA

33 million euros in undeclared income from social networks/ Anxhela Faber

The General Directorate of Taxes announced today that there are approximately 33 million euros of undeclared income from social networks. For this reason, the Taxes stated that an investigation has been launched for 100 individuals/entities.

Artists, singers, influencers, and bloggers earn large sums of money from social media. This money is received through banks, but is not declared to the tax authorities.

CNA, in order to present a deeper and more exhaustive explanation regarding this reporting, (READ HERE) , has received a response from one of the most important names in the distribution of audiovisual materials on digital networks in Albania, the director of Faber Media & Production, Anxhela Faber.

We asked Anxhela Faber what this income earned from social networks is and why it is not declared to the Tax Authorities. Faber explained that this income passes through a chain, starting from a contract between the platform and the company, while the latter distributes the share that belongs to the persons who own the copyright .

Further, Anxhela Faber said that the problem with this income not being declared lies in the fact that when the rights holder is an individual, they do not always declare their income as there is a lack of information about tax obligations .

" This is a topic whose problem stems precisely from the awareness of those who benefit from income. I am explaining the income chain. I operate in this industry where I perform the function of distributing audiovisual materials on digital networks. Each platform enters into a contract with the company and any income is paid into the company's bank account, and the company distributes the taxable portion to the rights holders. The problem is that, when the rights holder is an individual and receives the income in the bank account (since this is the only way in which this income can be distributed), the individual does not always declare that income, because they are uninformed about tax obligations.

Specifically, for years I have been explaining to rights holders that every individual has the obligation to be subject to being a taxable person in the country where they live, for the income they generate, as they often do not understand that it is not necessary to be a "sh.pk" to be taxed. Every individual must pay taxes on the income they generate, because that is how the state works everywhere" , explained Anxhela Faber.

Further, in her response to CNA, Anxhela Faber also explained the role that companies have in managing income coming from social networks. Faber focused on the part of the withholding tax, which is in Albania and not in other countries. Consequently, an individual who receives income from distribution to a company from Germany or America cannot be paid for the part of the taxes that belong to him to pay to the country where he is a resident, in this case Albania .

The head of Faber Media stated that the platform always makes payments from distribution to the bank, and the distribution company is also obliged to pay them to the bank. On the contrary, if this payment is not made to the bank, as Faber explains to CNA, every penny would be taxed. So the problem lies with the final beneficiary, for whom Anxhela Faber says that it is not clear to her that she has an obligation to declare income.

" So, the problem here of not declaring income is neither with the platform nor with the distributor, because the platform always pays it to the bank, and the distributor, being a company, is obliged to pay it to the bank, because if he withdraws it in cash, he would be taxed on every penny withdrawn by the company. So the problematic part is the final beneficiary, who is not clear that it is his obligation to declare it as income.

I want to explain something else: this part of the withholding tax that we have, but the world does not – for example, Germany does not recognize it as a concept, except in the case of employment, where of course taxes are deducted from the gross salary and the individual benefits from the net amount – is not applied in any other field.

"So, an individual cannot expect a company from China, Germany, America or anywhere in the world that brings you the taxable share of the income generated from distribution, to also pay you the taxes that you are entitled to pay in your country, because you are the beneficiary of your share and you are, for example, a resident in Albania ," Faber continued./ CNA