The Secretary General of the Freedom Party, Tedi Blushi, stated that almost two weeks have passed since the submission to the Albanian Parliament of this political force's draft law on reducing fuel prices, and according to him, there has still been no reaction from the government and the majority.
In a statement to the media, Blushi accused Prime Minister Edi Rama and the parliamentary majority of neglecting a problem that, according to him, directly affects Albanian families and businesses. He demanded the urgent approval of the Freedom Party's draft law, which aims to reduce the price of fuel in the country.
"Today the price of oil in Albania has reached around 200 lek per liter, while over 60% of this price consists of taxes that go directly to the state budget. The Freedom Party believes that the only real policy that is felt in the citizen's pocket, which is also being implemented by Western European countries and countries in the region, is tax reduction," Blushi said.
Full statement:
Almost two weeks have passed since the submission to the Assembly of the draft law of the Parliamentary Group of the Freedom Party for the reduction of fuel prices and so far there has been no reflection from Edi Rama and the Rilinda majority, also held hostage by the greedy oil oligarchs. This silence is unjustifiable in the face of a real problem that directly affects every Albanian family and every business in the country, especially in the context of the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, which is expected to bring direct consequences in the increase in fuel prices in our country. Today, the price of oil in Albania has reached around 200 lek per liter, while over 60% of this price are taxes that go directly to the state budget. The Freedom Party believes that the only real, true policy that is felt in the pocket of the citizen, which is being applied by countries in Western Europe, but also in countries in the region, is the reduction of taxes. It can never be accepted as normal that while citizens are impoverished and businesses are burdened by abusive and inflated fuel costs, the government benefits from more revenue, which never goes to its intended destination, but only fills the personal pockets of Edi Rama and his thugs.
Moreover, the richest people in the world come to Albania to fuel their yachts with tax-free fuel, Albanians are burdened by the same Government with abusive taxes for every liter of fuel. The absurdity is deepened by the fact that Albanian citizens pay 27 lek per liter of circulation tax, which with VAT goes to about 32 lek per liter. At the same time, Albanians pay twice for the roads: once through the vehicle registration and inspection tax, about 70 thousand lek per year, and again through the circulation tax on every liter of fuel. From this tax, the government collects about 300 million euros per year, while for the actual maintenance of the roads it spends only about 55 million euros. Without forgetting the fact that what is the current state of the roads in all four corners of the country and when the situation of vehicle traffic towards the South-East has not yet stabilized due to the collapse of the Librazhd-Prrenjas road.
The situation becomes even more unfair when we compare Albania with the countries of the region. Today, Albanian citizens pay around 1.83 euros per liter of diesel, while in North Macedonia the price is around 1.27 euros per liter. So, the difference is over 50 cents per liter, a huge difference for every family and every business. The biggest irony is that Albania has the lowest wages and the weakest purchasing power in the region, but one of the highest fuel prices. This is not a coincidence, but the result of a criminal fiscal policy that has chosen to burden the poorest citizens of the continent with high fuel taxes.
The increase in the price of oil is immediately reflected in the increase in the price of every basic food product: bread, flour, pasta, oil, transportation and every other service. Therefore, the price of fuel is today one of the main factors that has abusively and undeservedly increased the cost of living for every Albanian family. It is precisely for this reason that the Freedom Party has submitted to the Assembly the draft law for the suspension of the Circulation Tax and the Carbon Tax, a concrete measure that would bring an immediate reduction in the price of fuel and real relief for citizens and businesses. This initiative is today a touchstone for the Government and for every MP, left or right, whether they will either protect the interests of Albanian families and honest businesses, or continue to protect the occult interests of the greedy oil oligarchs and a tax system that impoverishes citizens.
