Large companies that underreport their employees’ salaries will see their fines double according to a latest decision by the Albanian government.
If companies declare salaries that are lower than what they actually give their employees, they will have to pay the Albanian government double the amount of the missing contributions.
Investigators are also empowered to slap additional fines on non-compliant companies without needing to provide a warning.
In early January, Minister of Finance Delina Ibrahimaj declared that 10,000 Albanian businesses were to be investigated for underreporting wages.
A letter was sent to every company believed to have engaged in tax fraud. In Albania, it is a relatively common practice to declare a lower salary on tax returns (and thus pay less tax and social security), and provide the rest of the salary in cash.
The decision came after a database containing the personal data of the majority of taxpayers in the country was leaked to the public and media. This data included the names, employers, and salaries of some 640,000 Albanians citizens.
It also showed that some 30% of Albanian citizens received the minimum wage.
