The scandal of the General Directorate of Taxes, which published a video of the action against an alcoholic beverage entity in Korça, is not simply a demonstration of force. It is a strong alarm signal about the way entrepreneurship is being treated in Albania.
The fact that this action comes immediately after press publications about the behavior of tax officials who, according to the Prime Minister himself, are putting their "hands on the throat of business" makes even stronger the suspicion that the motives of the tax officials' attack go beyond law enforcement.
Such attacks do not send the message of a state that supports honest entrepreneurship, but of an administration that aims to create perceptions in public opinion, including embassies and international institutions, as if the business in question does not fulfill its obligations or does not pay salaries regularly.
In fact, this entity makes every payment to employees through the banking system, with full transparency and without any form of informal payment, a practice easily verifiable through financial documentation and any independent audit.
Precisely for this reason, it remains incomprehensible, surprising and at the same time worrying that businesses that operate with "underhand" payments continue to be tolerated or still exist in the market, distorting competition and making the crackdown on those who respect the rules even more unfair.
In the absence of a single piece of evidence to the contrary, whether documentary or filmed, any attempt to distort this reality cannot be considered anything other than a serious and unjustified fabrication.
It is concerning that a state institution, which should guarantee justice and equality in the treatment of businesses, goes so far as to target a model entity for fairness and transparency, with claims that contradict its financial reality.
This behavior serves neither the business climate nor trust in institutions. On the contrary, it creates uncertainty and fear, harming not only a particular enterprise, but the entire market.
When facts are absent and their place is taken by staging, we are no longer dealing with mismanagement, but with pure abuse of power, a practice that undermines the rule of law and should seriously alarm every citizen and every business.
