88% of the free professions have been reimbursed/ Malay: We will continue for those who declare the accounts

2024-12-19 16:49:00, Ekonomi CNA

88% of the free professions have been reimbursed/ Malay: We will continue for

Until December 18, 2024, 7,157 self-employed businesses have been reimbursed for tax prepayment installments or 88% of them. 980 businesses have not been reimbursed, as they have not yet declared their bank accounts. While the cancellation of obligations generated as advance installments was made for 19,468 taxpayers.

From the total of 27,605 taxpayers as providers of professional services, it results that 30% of them have prepaid the tax, while the rest was generated as an obligation.

The data was made public by the Minister of Finance and Economy Petrit Malaj in the discussions and approval in today's plenary session of the Normative Act for some changes in the Income Tax Law. Minister Malaj said that no taxpayer loses the right to reimbursement of the amounts paid, and that the process will continue in 2025.

"From the verification of the data, it was found that there were a total of 27,605 taxpayers who were providers of professional services. For a part of them, the obligation was to return the prepayments generated, while for a part, the obligations generated as advance installments would have to be written off.

More specifically, the steps taken by the General Directorate of Taxes from the approval of the act in the government until now are: For 19,468 taxpayers - the cancellation of obligations generated as advance installments; For 8,137 taxpayers – creation of the refund procedure

After the identification of the taxpayers, the Tax Administration undertook the public announcement, in order for the taxpayers to verify and correct the self-declared bank accounts in e-Filing, by December 10, 2024.

It turned out that 1,809 taxpayers did not have such an account in the e-Filing system and for this category the deadline was postponed until December 18, 2024. Yes, on this date (December 18), the Tax Administration also made it possible to refund the payments made as advance installments for 7,157 taxpayers.

The process of refunding the payments made will continue every day, for each of the 980 taxpayers who will declare bank accounts.

I must emphasize and clarify that no taxpayer will lose the right to a refund. I repeat: None! Even if the deadlines for declaring bank accounts are exceeded, the process will continue to be implemented by the Regional Tax Directorates even during the year 2025".

Minister Malaj said that the adoption of the Normative Act aims to avoid differential treatment for entities that provide professional services.

"And in fact, these principles guided the Ministry of Finance even at the time when this new law was drafted.

What we found was the fact that in that period, out of about 110 thousand active taxpayers, almost 46% operated in the field of services. As the number of businesses operating in this field increased, the number of employees decreased. On the other hand, tax evasion was also found. It went from providing services as an employee (progressive tax 0%; 13% and 23%), to providing services as self-employed (where the tax rate is 0% for income up to 14 million ALL per year).

The entry into force of the law, in January 2024, provided for the establishment of equality and the elimination of the principle of tax neutrality (where an employed person and a self-employed person, who did the same job, had an unacceptable differentiation of the fiscal burden. The first 0% tax, the second 13% and 23% income tax).

Therefore, it was envisaged that the suppliers of professional services would be included in the progressive tax scheme in the same way as the employees.

This provision, which aimed to establish equality, was opposed by interest groups and the case went to the Constitutional Court, which, after examining it, with Decision no. 52 dated 27.06.2024 repealed as incompatible with the Constitution.

This decision abolished the tax scheme which included the suppliers of professional services with a turnover of up to 14 million lek, but did not express itself regarding the effects produced by these legal and bylaw acts.

In these conditions, the Ministry of Finance followed the legal path, turning to the Constitutional Court with the request to interpret and be instructed on the procedures on how we should act for the effects that the law produced from the entry into force until the moment of repeal.

The Constitutional Court did not express itself, implying that the effects produced were legitimate", underlined Minister Malaj.

On June 27, 2024, the Constitutional Court unanimously decided to overturn Article 69, which discriminated against free professionals from the 15% tax. Self-employed tax will start in 2029, the same as other businesses.

About 27 thousand free professionals would be affected by this law, where it turns out that 30% of them prepaid the 15% tax installments, which were calculated based on the profits of 2023, causing many debates, since the government did not recognize 30% deductible expenses.

It is estimated that about 5 million euros have been collected from the prepaid tax./ Monitor magazine